ST. GEORGE — Two suspects were arrested Sunday morning after allegedly burglarizing seven businesses in St. George and Mesquite, police say.
Garrett Lewis, 32, and Sarah Hewitt, 36, both from St. George, were arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility Sunday, facing over 20 felony offenses combined after they were caught trying to sell reportedly stolen tools.
The pair is suspected to have had involvement in seven burglary cases in St. George and Mesquite.
The first incident was reported July 27 when officers responded to a burglary at a laundromat in St George, according to the probable cause statement submitted to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review.
Police arrived to find the front door damaged, and money appeared to have been taken from the cash register, leaving the store with an estimated $1,000 in damage and a cash loss of more than $200.
Around a week later, two more incidents were reported. One at a local restaurant, and another at a massage therapy business on Aug. 4.
According to the report, officers arrived to find that the glass front door to the restaurant was damaged. And while no cash was reported missing, there was an estimated $600 in damage to the door.
Next door, police arrived to find both glass entrance doors to the massage therapy business shattered, and between $500-$2,000 in cash taken from the business. The cost to repair the doors was estimated to be $900.
Four days later, officers were called to a yoga business in St. George on Aug. 8 where they again found a glass entrance door shattered. There was also $650 in cash reported missing from the business. Blank checks had also been taken.
On Aug. 18, officers responded to a business complex where a window at a pizza restaurant was broken, causing $150 in damage. As officers canvassed the complex, they found another business with a broken window and $180 missing from the store, along with the cash drawer. The damage to the store was estimated to be about $230.
Later that day, officers were called to investigate a call involving an unsecured premises at a department store in St. George. Detectives were called to the scene and through the course of the investigation, determined that $1,300 was missing from the store in addition to $700 in damages from a broken window.
The next week, the St. George Police Department was notified that Mesquite Police officers were investigating a burglary that took place Aug. 25 in which tools were reportedly taken from a business.
Officers in St. George had information that tools similar to the ones stolen in Mesquite were being sold in town, and a meeting with the seller was arranged.
At the predetermined time, two individuals, later identified as Lewis and Hewitt, arrived for the meeting in St. George. Officers were able to compare serial numbers and other information against the items reported stolen in Mesquite.
During a search of the vehicle that the pair arrived in, officers recovered a number of items, including three saws and two drill sets with a combined value of nearly $3,000.
The item brands and models were consistent with items stolen from the business in Mesquite, and two of the saws had serial numbers matching the ones that were reported stolen. The tags from the business were also still attached to the saws.
Hewitt told police during an interview that she used to work at the laundromat where the first burglary was reported. She said that she and Lewis had discussed the burglary, and she provided details to him about the business, including where the keys to access the building were stored and where the cash was kept. She also told police that Lewis had taken about $200 from the store.
Hewitt also admitted to driving Lewis’ truck the night that the restaurant and massage parlor were broken into, as well as when Lewis allegedly broke into the department store.
Further, she said that she was on the phone with Lewis while he was allegedly committing the various burglaries, discussing details about the crimes and arranging times to pick him up to avoid being detected by police.
Officers also collected surveillance footage from several of the businesses showing a truck like the one Lewis owns being driven in the area during the time of the incidents.
Hewitt also admitted to driving Lewis’ truck to Mesquite to pick him up, and he loaded the stolen tools into the vehicle. She also said they took the items to St. George with plans to sell them.
The report also states that during the interview with Lewis, he confirmed that Hewitt drove the truck and admitted to talking to her during a number of the alleged crimes so they could “coordinate and avoid detection.”
Hewitt was arrested and booked into jail on eight third-degree felony offenses including one count of receiving stolen property and seven counts of burglary of a non-dwelling. She remains in custody on a $30,000 bail.
Lewis was arrested and booked into jail for 15 third-degree felony offenses including seven counts of burglary of a non-dwelling, one count of theft, six counts of criminal mischief and one count of receiving stolen property. He also faces six misdemeanors which include four counts of theft, one count of possession of burglary tools and one count of criminal mischief. The suspect remains in jail on a $50,000 bail.
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