ST. GEORGE — A St. George man is facing charges of second-degree felony theft for receiving stolen property after an individual discovered his stolen go-kart was being sold in an online Craigslist ad. The man was already incarcerated for a variety of other felony charges including his alleged involvement in an armed robbery of a St. George Pizza Hut in November.
On sept. 8, a go-kart was reported stolen in the St. George area, according to a probable cause statement filed by the St. George Police Department in support of the arrest.
On Oct. 1, the person who reported the theft discovered the stolen go-kart was listed for sale on Craigslist.com, the statement read. He was able to recognize the go-kart was his through certain identifying features including a green hose used as a kill switch and two specific stickers.
Timothy Cleveland Griffith, 33, of St. George, was listed on Craigslist as the seller of the stolen go-kart, according to the report.
“We made contact with someone on the listed number,” the arresting officer wrote in the statement, “and he claimed that he had already sold the go-kart.”
Police officers went by Griffith’s residence and were able to see into his backyard from the street, the statement read. Officers were able to identify the same blue swing set that the go-kart was parked in front of in the picture posted in the Craigslist ad.
Investigators then went to speak with Griffith at the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility where Griffith was incarcerated at the time for other theft-related offenses.
“I spoke with Tim who is currently in jail and he confirmed that the go-kart was at his residence, but he was selling it for a friend who didn’t have the Internet,” the officer wrote. “Tim wouldn’t tell me who the guy that stole it was, but he stated that he was in jail and he knew that he stole a lot of things. He state he took them to Las Vegas to trade for heroin.”
Griffith was charged with second-degree felony theft for receiving stolen property.
Judge John Walton, of the 5th District Court, ordered $5,000 bail for the new charges for Griffith’s release pending trial. He was found indigent by the court during his initial court appearance Thursday and will be represented by court-appointed attorney Douglas Terry. He is scheduled to make his next court appearance Jan. 12.
This is not Griffith’s first run-in with the law.
According to Utah Court documents, Griffith has an extensive criminal record for other theft-related crimes in the St. George area, including five misdemeanor charges for criminal mischief and retail theft in September 2014, third-degree felony retail theft charges in August 2015, as well as charges for first-degree felony aggravated robbery, second-degree felony burglary of a dwelling and theft, five third-degree felonies for possession of another’s identifying documents, criminal mischief, theft and theft by receiving stolen property in December 2015, among other charges.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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