Woman tells police she has no memory of stealing 2 vehicles hours apart

Stock image of St. George Police patrol unit, St. George, Utah, July 9, 2020 | File photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A local woman accused of stealing two vehicles in the same day, one of which was found abandoned in Nevada, is in jail facing felony theft charges.

Natalie Lucero, 58, of St. George, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, Nov. 10, 2020 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

The arrest stems from an investigation that was set in motion Sunday morning, when officers were dispatched to a residence on East Riverside Drive on a report that a vehicle had been stolen.

According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, the vehicle in question had been parked in front of the home when the owner said it taken by the suspect, 58-year-old Natalie Lucero.

When officers contacted Lucero by phone, the officer noted that she allegedly admitted to stealing the car and said she would bring it back but then failed to do so.

Hours later, officers were dispatched to a report of a second vehicle that was taken from the Walmart parking lot off Brigham Road. Officers learned that a suspect matching the description of Lucero was the woman suspected of taking the car, suspicions that the report states were later corroborated by video surveillance captured from the parking lot during the incident.

While investigating the second vehicle theft, officers located the first car in the parking lot, leading authorities to believe that Lucero drove the first car to the parking lot where she allegedly took a second vehicle.

During a subsequent phone call with the suspect, the officer said Lucero stated she drove the second car to Henderson, Nevada.

The suspect also said that after reaching Henderson, she took the keys and the wallet found inside of the car and threw them in the bushes. She then left the car abandoned and returned to St. George.

Officers went to the suspect’s residence where she again told police where the second vehicle was located. She also told investigators that she woke up in the car but had no memory of taking the vehicle, nor did she know how she got to Las Vegas, where she was ultimately picked up by a family member and returned to St. George.

Lucero went on to explain that she remembered being in the Walmart parking lot “in the first stolen car” but did not remember anything after that, the officer noted, despite the fact that she was able to accurately describe the second vehicle, as well as the contents found inside.

Based on the suspect admitting to taking the first vehicle and the accurate account she provided regarding the second vehicle, as well as the video surveillance obtained from Walmart that allegedly showed her taking the car from the parking lot, Lucero was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility where she faces two second-degree felony counts of vehicle theft.

The suspect remains in custody on $10,000 bail.

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

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