ST. GEORGE — Charges were filed against a Cedar City man accused of assaulting a paramedic after the fire department was called to coax him out of a tree Saturday.
Dylan Charles Young, 33, was charged with one third-degree felony count of assault/threat of violence on a health care provider/EMS and misdemeanor criminal trespass. He was also cited for disorderly conduct.
Cedar City Police officers were dispatched to a residence on June 29 after the homeowner called 911 to report that “someone is in their tree acting strangely,” and yelling profanities, the officer wrote in the probable cause statement in support of the arrest.
Officers arrived to find the man, later identified as Young, climbing around the top of the tree and yelling.
The Cedar City Fire Department was dispatched to the scene with a ladder truck that was used to coax the man down from the tree. He was subsequently detained by police with an ambulance en route.
The “erratic, disorderly behavior” escalated while in the ambulance, police say, as the defendant started swinging his arms and legs wildly as he attempted to get off the gurney while the ambulance was still moving.
At that point, the defendant allegedly struck the paramedic trying to restrain him with his fists, legs and a water bottle.
Unable to continue with the commotion taking place in the back, the ambulance pulled over and stopped as officers entered the back and physically restrained the defendant. Young was treated and later booked into the Iron County Jail.
According to the report, the charges were supported by the fact that Young allegedly entered the property of another, “and climbed their tree.” The defendant’s behavior also “caused such concern” the property owner called police and, once inside the ambulance, police say the erratic behavior escalated which led to an assault on a paramedic and the defendant being physically restrained.
“He did all of this while on felony probation,” the officer said in the statement.
The report continued by saying Young’s behavior was the likely result of drug use which was supported by the defendant’s “extensive drug history.”
Young appeared in 5th District Court in Cedar City Tuesday by video. A roll call hearing is scheduled to take place July 9.
He remains in custody without bail as this report publishes.
This report is based on statements from police or other responders 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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