ST. GEORGE — A woman was arrested following a verbal altercation that led to her being trespassed from a Springdale hotel, where she later returned and allegedly burglarized one of the rooms, police say.
The incident began Sept. 23 when officers responded to a hotel in Springdale on a report that one of the rooms had been broken into and several items had been stolen from the room. Items missing included a black backpack, jewelry, $50 in cash, an American Express credit card, a wallet valued at $500, a California driver’s license and keys to a vehicle belonging to the hotel guest, according to charging documents filed in 5th District Court.
Springdale Police Officer Britt Ballard told St. George News that earlier that same day, officers were called to the same hotel by management who requested that a guest, later identified as 55-year-old Ruth Hull, be trespassed from the property. Hull had allegedly had a confrontation with hotel staff when she was told she needed to be out of the room by the checkout time and refused to leave.
She was also allegedly involved in a verbal confrontation with the occupants of the room located next door to her, the same room Hull allegedly broke into later.
Ballard went on to explain that Hull is a Springdale resident but was staying at the hotel for a few days while she had visitors staying at her home.
Officers escorted Hull out of the hotel and advised her she was trespassed from entering the property, while hotel staff asked one of the other officers to follow them back inside to view surveillance footage.
Through the course of the investigation, officers viewed surveillance footage captured at the hotel, obtained key card information from staff, spoke to a number of witnesses and were able to identify the suspect as Hull.
Video surveillance showed the suspect entering the guest’s room empty-handed. When she was seen leaving the room a short time later, she was carrying a bag in her hands that appeared to contain several items.
“That white bag was full of stuff when she left the other guest’s room,” Ballard said.
The video also showed Hall entering the men’s restroom where a number of the items presumably contained in the bag were found a short time later by hotel staff, including the guest’s wallet and keys. Some of the items taken were thrown in the toilet and were partially covered in fecal matter, the officer noted in the report.
Ballard also said officers viewed the restroom where the incident took place.
“It appeared the suspect threw the items in the toilet and then defecated all over them, and the hotel’s cleaning staff also found feces throughout the restroom,” he said.
A short time later, officers exited the hotel to find that Hull had already left the property.
Officers went to the suspect’s residence in Springdale, but she was not home. They continued checking the house throughout the week but were unable to make contact with her. She was entered into the system as an individual to be detained if located, which took place on Thursday when officers were called to a suspicious vehicle in Hurricane, Ballard said.
They arrived to find Hull inside the vehicle. When they ran her name, Hurricane Police Officers noted the entry from Springdale and detained the woman until Springdale officers arrived and arrested her shortly after.
While speaking to officers, the suspect allegedly admitted to entering the hotel room and taking the items. Police say she also admitted to she entering the restroom where several of the missing items were located.
She was subsequently transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility, and at 9:30 p.m., she was booked for second-degree felony burglary, along with misdemeanor theft and criminal mischief, charges that were filed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office Friday morning.
The criminal mischief charge resulted from the activities that took place in the hotel restroom the week before, Ballard said.
She was being held on $10,000 bail and was released a short time later, the details of which were not available at the time of this report.
This report is based on statements from police or court records 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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