ST. GEORGE — A theft investigation at a Walmart store in St. George resulted in two arrests after a man accused of stealing a stuffed unicorn and other merchandise allegedly became combative when his fiance was placed under arrest for an outstanding warrant.
At 9:30 p.m. Friday, officers responded to the Walmart at 2610 Pioneer Road on report of a retail theft in progress after a man and woman were allegedly observed exiting the store with unpaid merchandise.
A store manager told officers that the couple got into a silver minivan parked in a handicap stall directly in front of the entrance, which is where officers found the pair sitting inside the van minutes later.
The man, 37-year-old Jarrett Crooks, of St. George, was quickly detained after officers noticed an “abnormal” number of knives in his possession, according to the probable cause statement written in support of his arrest.
When speaking with Crooks, police say he initially denied taking any merchandise but quickly changed his answer. According to the statement, he admitted to stealing a stuffed unicorn, which he said was inside the van alongside other items that belonged to him.
During a search of the van, officers state that they found two brand new backpacks “jammed full” of new merchandise.
“We took all of the suspected merchandise into the store and they began running the products through their register,” the arresting officer wrote. “Walmart confirmed a majority of the items were stolen and the dollar amount was around $440.”
According to the statement, Crooks admitted to police that he stole the items, saying he was in the store with a friend named “Jeremy” who took off before police arrived. He also allegedly told police that his fiance, Jennifer Smith, requested that he steal the merchandise.
“Jarrett specifically stated that he was told he would not get any sex from Jennifer if he did not steal the merchandise,” the arresting officer wrote.
Since Crooks’ was cooperative, officers initially planned to cite and release him, but that changed when a check of his fiance’s record came back showing an extraditable warrant issued out of Missouri.
When Smith was told she was under arrest, police state that Crooks “lost all self control and began screaming” and attempted to attack the arresting officer. Despite repeated commands to stop, Crooks was allegedly noncompliant, and the officer drew his taser. According to the statement, Crooks then grabbed his fiance to prevent her from leaving the van as officers continued to order him to stop for several minutes.
Once additional officers arrived, they managed to safely pull Crooks out of the van. As he was pulled out, four credit cards not in Crooks’ name allegedly fell out of his pocket. According to the statement, Crooks told the officers he was given the cards by a friend and that they were “possibly stolen.”
Crooks was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and faces several charges, including three third-degree felony counts of unlawful possession/acquisition/transfer of a financial card and class B misdemeanor counts of interfering with an arrest and retail theft. He remains in custody as of Saturday evening.
Smith was also booked into Purgatory on the Missouri warrant as well as three class B misdemeanor offenses — retail theft, failing to disclose identity and interfering with an arrest. At the time of this report, she remains in custody.
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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