CEDAR CITY — Police arrested a suspected thief in a Cedar City business parking lot on Tuesday afternoon.

Cedar City Police Sgt. Clint Pollock said the incident began around 1:42 p.m., when emergency dispatchers received a call about a suspicious man trying to pawn possibly stolen property at a local pawn shop.

The suspect reportedly left that store and went to another local pawn shop, where he encountered a responding police officer. However, he refused to submit to officer’s commands and instead took off in his pickup truck, Pollock said.

“The vehicle took off at a high rate of speed, went northbound on Main Street, made a sharp turn onto Stoney Pine Way,” Pollock told Cedar City News. 

Almost immediately after turning right off Main, the driver then made a sharp left turn into the parking lot of an office building at 1870 N. Main, leaving skid marks in multiple places on the asphalt.

“The suspect exited the vehicle and took off running with officers in pursuit,” Pollock added. “After a short foot chase, the suspect was safely taken into custody.”

Both the Ford pickup truck the suspect was driving and a Suzuki motorcycle strapped down in its bed were reported to have been stolen, according to police. The truck’s license plates were also reportedly stolen.

Police identified the suspect as Steffan Nunley, 28. Although he reported no injuries, he was first taken to Cedar City Hospital as a precaution. After receiving medical clearance, he was booked into Iron County Jail on suspicion of two counts of possession of a stolen vehicle, felony fleeing, failing to stop at the command of a police officer and traffic violations.

Utah court records show Nunley has an extensive criminal history dating back several years. He’s scheduled to be sentenced next week in a recent case involving a stolen Jeep Cherokee that was located in Leeds by a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy, as previously reported in St. George News.

This report is based on information provided by law enforcement 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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