ST. GEORGE — An alleged porch pirate and his companion are facing multiple theft and other charges following their arrests earlier this week.
Arturo T. Arellano, 28, and Amy S. McBride, 37, were arrested by St. George Police officers following an investigation into mail theft, according to probable cause statements.
Police approached the two in a business parking lot and saw finance cards on the floorboard of the vehicle McBride and Arellano were in. Police ran a name on one of the cards and learned it was connected to a reported purse theft.
That led to a search warrant for the vehicle and officers finding over 50 stolen finance cards. Names on the cards were connected to various theft and burglary reports police had received. They also found what appeared to be a card reader.
“There was also a large amount of mail that was not addressed to Arturo and Amy,” the reports state. “The mail included addresses throughout St. George, and some of the mail contained new finance cards. The mail and credit cards were recovered throughout the vehicle.”
Drug paraphernalia and a stolen Tennessee license plate were also found.
The two told police they were in a relationship. Police and court records show they also have prior involvements with each other for theft and credit card fraud.
Because of convictions within the last 10 years, a misdemeanor charge for the stolen license plate was bumped up to a third-degree felony.
The two were in was a Chevrolet Equinox that matched the description of a vehicle involved in porch piracy incidents.
The first incident occurred Feb. 7 and involved the theft of a package valued at nearly $100.
A security camera caught a man wearing a dark-colored jacket, large glasses and baseball cap with the words “candy king” written on it, walking toward the porch where he poached the package.
In an effort to identify and locate the porch pirate, the police posted footage from the security camera to social media.
Read more: St. George Police ask for help identifying porch pirate
A tip came in that Arellano could be the possible pirate. While he matched the description of the suspected package pilferer, police at the time did not have contact information or a current address for the man.
Another package theft, which occurred Feb. 18, involved a box of art supplies valued at $75. A witness reported seeing a suspect who matched Arellano’s description.
The investigating officer met with the witness who told him be had seen the social media post and believed the porch pirate he saw was the same one police were looking for.
The witness also said saw the pirate driving an SUV that would later match up with the one Arellano and McBride were found in.
After Arellano’s arrest, the investigating officer interviewed him. Arellano denied being in town anytime between September and February. The interview ended soon after when Arellano requested an attorney.
The officer then interviewed McBride who said Arellano had been in St. George since November or December, according a probable cause statement.
The warrant search of the SUV also produced a baseball cap with the words “candy king” written on it, which matched the hat worn by the suspect seen in the Feb. 7 act of porch piracy.
Both Arellano and McBride face multiple felony and misdemeanor charges for theft, mail theft, the unlawful acquisition of a finance card and possessing drug paraphernalia.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
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Twitter: @MoriKessler
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