Suspect arrested for burglary after homeowner provides photo of alleged crime to police

Composite image | Photo by Stelsone/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A Hurricane man faces felony burglary and other charges after a resident found a suspect taking tools from inside his garage after allegedly breaking into both of the homeowner’s vehicles.

On Tuesday, officers were dispatched to a residence on 1100 South in St. George after a resident called 911 reporting that a male was inside his garage attempting to steal tools. He also said the suspect entered two of his vehicles and made off with roughly $15, according to charging documents filed with the court.

The homeowner was able to take a photo of the suspect that was later shown to officers, two of whom recognized the man as 33-year-old Chance Horne, who is known to police.

An hour later, Horne’s backpack was located in the backyard of a house nearby, and the suspect was located at the Maverik store on St. George Boulevard by police.

Horne told officers he was at the address where the reported burglary took place but said he was with another male, who was to give him a ride, and he denied taking any property.

During a search prior to transport, officers found what appeared to be methamphetamine and marijuana in his pockets, and he was booked into jail. The following day, he was charged with one second-degree felony count of burglary of a dwelling and felony possession of a controlled substance, as well as misdemeanor drug and paraphernalia possession charges.

The suspect was on probation when he was arrested Tuesday involving a misdemeanor drug case that was set in motion in November of last year when officers were called out to a Washington City neighborhood on a man acting suspicious, according to court records.

Chance Horne, of Hurricane, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, Aug. 25, 2020 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Officer arrived and spoke to witnesses who reported that a man was going from house to house knocking on doors and asking for an “unknown female” and was then seen “hanging out in a church parking lot” and acting suspicious, the officer noted in the report.

An officer canvassing the area located a man matching the description provided by witnesses driving a white van that was seen pulling onto 300 East.

As the officer approached the van, he noticed the driver “throwing a small plastic container over his shoulder” toward the rear of the vehicle.

The driver was identified as Horne, who said he was looking for a woman but could not remember which house she lived in. When questioned further, he said he did not remember her last name. He explained he was stopped in the church parking lot trying to find a WiFi signal so that he could messenger her through Facebook.

During the stop, officers were advised that Horne had a no-bail warrant issued out of 5th District court on a retail theft, weapons case filed in September 2019.

During a search of the van, officers located the plastic container he was seen throwing over his shoulder earlier, which had a small baggie of methamphetamine, and behind the driver’s seat, they found “a very realistic-looking BB gun,” the officer noted, which Horne said belonged to his nephew but that he had taken it from him for his safety.

Chance was transported to jail and booked on his warrant, possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The case filed in September of last year involved a theft reported at Walmart in Washington City, where officers responded and spoke to store security who told them that a man was seen running through the parking lot before jumping the fence south of the ramp near 500 West.

Officers located the man hiding behind a tree near the corner of 500 West and 200 South, and when the suspect saw the officer, he started climbing up the retaining wall but before he could go over, he was detained by police.

As it turned out, Horne took less than $40 in merchandise from the store, but the charge was enhanced from a misdemeanor to a felony due to his having multiple prior convictions for theft. Officers also found two large knives during a search prior to taking him to jail, which he is restricted from carrying, so he was also booked on a felony weapons charge, and a warrant was later issued for a probation violation.

On the current case, Horne was scheduled to appear in 5th District Court Friday.

Ed. note: The name of the second individual Horne told officers he got a ride from during the incident reported Aug. 25 was removed.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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