St. George man sentenced to drug court probation during hearing on 4 cases, 2 of which are dismissed

2019 file photo of 5th District Court where federal hearings are held, St. George, Utah, August, 2019 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A St. George man with a criminal history dating back to 1994 recently appeared for sentencing on four cases. While two of the cases were dismissed and all fines and prison terms were suspended on the cases that remained, he will face three years of drug court probation.

Vincent Montel Rodabough, 51, booking photo taken Feb. 26, 2020, in Davis County, Utah | Photo courtesy of Public Police Records, St. George News

Vincent Montel Rodabough, 51, appeared in 5th District Court in St. George on four unrelated cases last month as part of a global resolution that resolved each of the cases.

The first case filed in February involved eight charges the defendant pleaded guilty to, including one second-degree felony count for possession of a dangerous weapon and two third-degree felony counts for unlawful acquisition of a finance card. He also entered a guilty plea on two counts of possession of a controlled substance, one count of possession of paraphernalia and interfering with an arresting officer — each a misdemeanor.

The second case involving a third-degree felony tampering with a witness charge was dismissed as part of the resolution. In that case, the defendant was accused of threatening a witness who refused to delete the photos taken of another alleged crime. The charges were filed in September 2018.

In the third case filed the following month, all charges were dismissed, which included a third-degree felony forgery charge and a misdemeanor theft charge. That case involved an incident reported in October 2018 when Rodabough was accused of cashing a $500 check at the Check City in Cedar City that later turned out to be forged.

Prosecutor Rick Erickson told St. George News the case involving the check cashing business was dismissed after it came to light that Rodabough’s wallet had been stolen along with his identification card just prior to the incident, and his ID was then used by an individual who cashed the forged check under Rodabough’s name. That person has since been charged in the incident, Erickson said.

In the fourth case filed in June 2018, the oldest case Rodabough was sentenced on during the hearing, the defendant was originally charged with aggravated assault and obstruction of justice for taking part in an incident where a man was severely beaten with a hammer in a remote area off Turkey Farm Road in April 2018.

Three suspects were reportedly involved in the case, including Rodabough, along with Sasha Davis, 24, and Kade Shearer, 24.

Rodabough pleaded guilty to the obstruction charge, and during the hearing he was placed on 36-month’s drug court probation in lieu of prison or jail.

2018 file photo of Attorney Aric Cramer, Sasha Michelle Davis and Kade Robert Shearer attending a preliminary hearing , St. George, Utah, July 27, 2018 | File photo by Spencer Ricks, St. George News

Erickson said the aggravated assault charge was dropped in exchange for a guilty plea on the obstruction charge, since Rodabough was not the initiator nor primary actor during the assault that reportedly took place on Turkey Farm Road in 2018.

According to the state’s position that was outlined by prosecutor Jim Weeks during Shearer’s trial, Rodabough, who was 49 at the time, was acting under the sole direction of then-22-year-old Shearer when the incident took place.

Shearer went to trial in December 2019 and was found guilty by a jury on multiple counts, including aggravated attempted murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery and aggravated assault as well as two misdemeanors for tampering with evidence and making a threat of violence.

Codefendant Davis was released after spending two and one-half years in jail and 90 days in a substance abuse treatment facility, while Rodabough avoided jail time and was sentenced to the drug court program.

Shearer remains in jail in Washington County awaiting sentencing, and the state is asking for life in prison.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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