Man arrested for theft after second shoplifting spree

Thomas Lee Roy Hutchison, of St. George, Utah, booking photo posted Jan. 26, 2016 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff's Office, St. George News
Thomas Lee Roy Hutchison, of St. George, Utah, booking photo posted Jan. 26, 2016 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

WASHINGTON CITY — A St. George man was arrested Tuesday after a store employee saw him making multiple trips out of the Washington City Wal-Mart with stolen merchandise — for the second time in the last two weeks.

Thomas Lee Roy Hutchison, 41, was arrested after store employees watched the man make repeated trips out the door of the store with merchandise he had not paid for, and called the police.

“He made multiple trips inside Wal-Mart and to his vehicle,” the probable cause statement filed in support of Hutchison’s arrest states. “Each trip inside he selected several items. He would take the items to the front of the store where he past (sic) all points of purchase.”

After making several trips in and out of the store with stolen merchandise, Hutchison got into his vehicle and attempted to leave the area, the arresting officer wrote in the statement. The officer stopped Hutchison and took him back to Wal-Mart.

During the investigation, an employee told the officer that Hutchison matched the description of a suspect in a similar incident that happened Jan. 14.

“He selected several grocery items and a television,” the officer stated, and then left the store, loaded the items into his vehicle and left the area.

Hutchison was arrested for both incidents and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.

Hutchison was charged with two third-degree felonies for retail theft of property valued between $1,500 and $5,000; and retail theft of property valued between $500 and $1,500 with a prior qualifying conviction. He was released on $6,950 bail with an initial court appearance set for Feb. 2.

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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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.

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1 Comment

  • .... January 30, 2016 at 3:40 pm

    It wouldn’t surprise me to find out its just another idiot from Mesa AZ

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