Iron County man sentenced in solar trailer theft case

Stock photo by Alex Star/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

CEDAR CITY — An Iron County resident was sentenced to jail and ordered to pay more than $4,000 in a case involving stolen flatbed solar trailers police found on his property in May.

Ron Lee Kenneth Parker booking photo, Iron County Jail, Cedar City, Utah, May 2021 | Photo courtesy of Iron County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News / Cedar City News

In 5th District Court earlier in July, 43-year-old Ron Lee Kenneth Parker was sentenced to 60 days in jail by Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen, who also ordered Parker to complete a three-year probation term and to pay $4,189 in restitution and fines.

The charges against Parker stemmed from a search warrant that Iron County Sheriff’s deputies executed the morning of May 20, on property owned by Parker located in Hamblin Valley in the western portion of Iron County. 

Acting on a tip, the deputies were looking for multiple tandem axle flatbed trailers equipped with solar panels, batteries, and inverters. The trailers, which were reportedly stolen out of Las Vegas, were valued at between $7,000 and $18,000 apiece, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of Parker’s arrest.

Two of the stolen trailers were reportedly found on Parker’s property, while two others were located on neighboring properties, according to the affidavit.

Parker was originally charged with four counts of theft by receiving stolen property, with each count being a second-degree felony. However, on June 29, as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to two counts of theft by receiving stolen property, which were each reduced to a third-degree felony, along with one count of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, also a third-degree felony. Two other original charges, one felony count of being a fugitive from justice and a misdemeanor count of driving on a denied license, were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

Parker, who was given credit for time already served in Iron County Jail since his arrest, waived extradition and was subsequently transported to the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas, where he faces multiple additional charges in Nevada, including burglary, possession of burglary tools, theft, and drug possession.

Court records indicate that Parker has an extensive criminal history in Utah dating back more than two decades.

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

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!