WASHINGTON CITY – A 24-year-old cleaning man was arrested for theft and exploitation of a vulnerable adult Friday after he allegedly stole prescription medication from a woman he was cleaning for.
Officers were dispatched to a theft call after a woman told them she believed her cleaning helper, Marlin Dawahoya, stole some of her prescription medications, Washington City Police Officer Scott Durfey said in his probable cause statement supporting the arrest.
The woman said Dawahoya was at her residence cleaning, and after he left, she noticed some of her medications were missing.
“The (woman) told me no one else has access to her house and no one else has been inside her house for over six months,” Durfey wrote in the statement. “The (woman) told me she has numerous illnesses including cancer and she stays in bed all day.”
The woman then sent Dawahoya a text message asking if he had taken her medications, Durfey said. The woman said that in the text messages, Dawahoya admitted to stealing Oxycontin Thursday and also admitted he had taken Vicodin on other occasions.
“She stated (Dawahoya) told her he still had six of her Oxycoton,” Durfey wrote in the statement, “and he told her he would return them tomorrow.”
Durfey called Dawahoya and asked him if he had taken the woman’s medication, and when Dawahoya told him that he did, Durfey asked him to come to the police department.
When Dawahoya arrived, he told Durfey that six of the Oxycontin he had stolen from the woman were in his pocket. He also admitted to stealing Vicodin from the woman on three different occasions.
Dawahoya was arrested and charged with two third-degree felonies for exploitation of a vulnerable adult and the possession of a controlled substance and three class B misdemeanors for possession of a controlled substance and theft.
He was booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility on Friday. Dawahoya’s bail stands at $13,926. According to booking information, he remains in custody as this report is published.
Dawahoya made his initial court appearance Friday.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
Related posts
- Two arrested for aggravated burglary, robbery; one faces multiple drug charges
- Intruder impersonating officer: just helping the police; felony arrest
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.
*Oxycontin
I commend you on your honesty Marlin.
I actually feel sorry for this guy. What a life to be a “cleaning man”. Your only refuge is to get high to escape your lowly life. Plus he was honest about taking the pills. The man has integrity as well.
Rather unusual for a thief to admit to something that would have been so easy to hide & deny .
Altho a pill popper , he does appear to still have a conscience .
Sounds like a rare one that could find his way out to a better life .
I would like to compare bail tho . . .
His was over $13K for lifting a dozen pills while a few weeks back a woman was arrested for a DUI who had a prior DUI WITH vehicular homicide but her bail was about $5000 .
HOW does someone who has previously killed someone get lower bail on a repeat DUI than a guy who lifted some pills ?
Those are serious pain killers. Maybe he thought he was doing the old woman a favor by removing her pain killers. Utah is ranked number 1 for prescription pill abuse and addiction. We should identify his concern to community and commend him for trying to reduce Utah from this lofty ranking.
It appears that negligence leading to death isn’t as serious of a crime as drugs are in this town
Ladybug…What does your comment mean? Doesn’t make sense in this context.
I feel compassion for anyone with substance abuse issues. A series of small steps can lead to a life of misery.
I was commenting to Marys comment but it didn’t go under there..
Bug men who spray your house do it all the time
So are you saying “all” bugmen steal while in homes or is that just a hypothetical BS statement meant to stir things up like Koolaid does?
The most disturbing part of this story is that a bedridden woman with cancer has had no other visitors for six months.
Shows how much the community cares for her. Guess she’s not worthy of any visitors. That compassion is saved for rescuing feral cats and stray dogs.
Well … yeah nobody wants to get PETA all ticked off
Ed. ellipsis.
I was thinking the same thing. Very sad.
I am the victim you all feel the need to judge….
Reread…article
I am not from Utah. I moved to stg for my cancer treatments.
I am NOT alone. People do visit. They do not go upstairs, which has a locked access that I had installed by a locksmith.
When “cleaning man” comes over, I remove my valuables to a non accesible area.
The person you sympathize with does my shopping, picks up my medication, does my laundry, cleans my bedroom. I am not willing to share with you WHY,I can not do it myself. I deserve privacy and security.
This unusual event did not come about because I was left alone or I left my prescription out or available.
It came about because I am leaving on a long vacation to go back home.
I am not going to share the details as it leaves me wide open for more theft.
I did the right thing by calling the police within less than a hour after “HE” left.
It appears to me, the commentators, have fell in love with HIM, just as I have.
That is why he has worked for me longer than six months.
I did not want to be apart of what is ultimately a fate HE chose.
I could write pages of why I care about him.
I gave him a chance to return, admit, take responsibility.
He via text denied.
Ii wrote HIM an insanely long text to prove it was indeed HIM.
HE wrote back admitting his deed and to many other thefts I was unaware aware.
The police called HIM asked HIM to come in person , to the station. Just like the young man Ii cared for, HE had the character to admit/confess and brought the 6 oxy he had left to the police in person, hence HIS immediate arrest.
HE STOLE MORES THAN 20+ OXY FROM EACH BOTTLE,
Which HAD his fingerprint on them.
HE needs to be admired for his coming clean, however, he had no choice, HE admitted the theft within 2 hours in writing.
HIS finger print ARE ON THE 2 BOTTLES.
1 dated May, 1 dated June
Both for 60 oxy.
I never touched the bottles, they were in my travel etc for my upcoming trip….
I need my identity protected as well as my friends, family, neighbors
I can not share WHY I was stock piling my opiates.
All you need to know is I did for a very good reason that the police, HIM, and my doctor, is fuly aware…
I should NOT have to explain WHY I am a victim of theft, or WHY, I have prescriptions, or WHY this usual day, HE looked…..Chose, to LOOK, and found a way to steal that I was unaware of…..
I have breast cancer, uterine cancer, thyroid disease as well as Hashimoto’s disease…I should NOT have to explain my HEALTH or WHY…..
I understand STG has addiction highway with pills and heroin. To JUDGE ME, is so disrespectful, and goes against the right to MY safety and security in MY own HOME.
For YOU to want ME to justify my health, and MY reasons FOR PRESCRIPTION IS like saying a rape victim deserved the rape because she worse a half naked outfit.
Know that until 5pm today, I was unaware HE was arrested. I was notified NOT by police, but my his girlfriend. Who then preceded to share with me that HE is …. I am deleting this…. the paragraph I wrote….it is NOT place to out HIS private medical etc issues.
I care about HIM. It hurts me deeply HE chose this path….however, he only admitted after HE was exposed with irrefutable evidence. THEN he chose to go in person to police station AFTER HE WAS ASKED TO…..go to the police station in person….HE confess and while THERE, he gave police 6 oxy (he stole 42) and admit to other thefts……
I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO EXPLAIN MYSELF…….
Think about WHY you feel the need to know MY personal health issues and a situation to justify theft or why I am in possessions of my prescriptions.
PLEASE RESPECT MY PRIVACY
I WAS UNAWARE MY PERSONAL LIFE WAS GOING TO BE JUDGED BECAUSE I AM A VICTIM AND DID THE RIGHT THING BY CALL THE POLICE.
THE NEWSPAPER HAD NO RIGHT TO OUT MY PLIGHT.
I do NOT see anyone judging you .
I do NOT see anyone asking you to explain yourself / or saying you need to .
There is discussion around Utah’s oxycontin issues and the guy & another person arrested for a DUI .
Your protracted response ( with heavy inappropriate paranoia ) suggests you have stress issues , probably related to your treatment .
I realize they take a physical toll resulting in emotional instability but you might benefit from counseling to aid in regaining a more stable mental outlook .
There are psychologists than might take you as a client .
Alice, I’m going to ask you a couple of standard questions, okay? Have you or any of your family been diagnosed schizophrenic? Mentally incompetent? Alice, are you habitually using drugs? Stimulants? Alcohol? Just asking. Are you, Alice, menstruating right now?