ST. GEORGE — A man accused of brutally attacking a woman near Logan last year was apprehended in St. George Saturday.
Shawn Christopher Jeppson, 35, of St. George, was taken into custody on an active warrant out of Cache County for third-degree felony aggravated assault. St. George Police officers arrested the defendant after he exited Smith’s Food and Drug on Bluff Street at around noon and then transported him to Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane where he remains without bail.
Jeppson’s arrest warrant stemmed from a July 23, 2018, incident wherein police were dispatched to a campground in the Green Canyon area of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest after an individual called 911 reporting that his mother returned from a nearby campground and was “bloody” from being assaulted, according to court records filed in First District Court in Logan.
Officers first stopped at the campground where the assault allegedly occurred and spoke to Jeppson, who was there with his girlfriend. Police say he denied assaulting anyone.
As deputies continued questioning Jeppson, another officer went to the campground where the 911 call originated and found a woman with a towel wrapped around her head that had “obvious injuries to her face and head,” according to court records, including redness around both eyes, cuts on her face and wounds to her head.
The woman told police she was also hit in the head with some type of wrench. An ambulance was called, and she was transported to the hospital for evaluation and treatment.
A witness told police at the scene that the woman had gone to Jeppson’s campsite to confront him about providing her boyfriend with alcohol. The witness stated the defendant became angry and kicked the woman in the head and assaulted her.
Meanwhile, officers continued questioning Jeppson who maintained he had no involvement in the incident. During the conversation, officers noticed that Jeppson’s hands were red and swollen with small cuts. One of the deputies found a silver 3/8 socket wrench nearby that “appeared to have blood on it,” which Jeppson denied owning or using, according to court records.
Jeppson was then arrested and transported to the Cache County Jail for aggravated assault.
Deputies went to check on the woman at the hospital a short while later. They were told by treating physicians that the woman appeared to have been struck in the head with an object that left “a three-sided star shaped impression on her head,” court records state. Police determined the distinctive markings were consistent with being hit by a socket wrench.
Jeppson pleaded not guilty to the charge and then posted bond and was released from jail Aug. 2 under pretrial supervision. Court records indicate the warrant for his arrest was issued Dec. 17, 2018, after he failed to comply with the court order and then failed to appear for a hearing in October.
The jury trial scheduled for Jan. 20 at First District Court in Logan was cancelled after the defendant failed to appear for the prior hearing. Further information regarding any upcoming appearances was not available at the time of this report.
This report is based on statements from police and may not contain the full scope of findings. 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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Balding, scruffy beard, neck tatts. Whass up, Holmes?
OBTW great catch, LEO!
This should be capital punishment beat him with a socket wrench!!!
The woman was probably trying to steal his meth stash.