Police: Suspect arrested after fleeing from officers in stolen vehicle in St. George

2021 file photo of St. George Police, St. George, Utah, Dec. 17, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A local man is in jail facing multiple charges after allegedly taking officers on a pursuit early Monday morning that started with a stolen vehicle and ended with a call reporting a burglary in progress.

2021 file photo of St. George Police responding to an incident on South River Road, St. George, Dec. 17, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

On Monday, officers were dispatched to a convenience store located on the corner of South River Road and 700 South on a report of a black Toyota Camry that was stolen from the parking lot shortly after 4:30 a.m.

According to charging documents filed in support of the arrest, the caller told officers while he was inside of the store, a suspect jumped into his vehicle and drove off. He also said he had a GoPro and an iPad inside of the car when it was reportedly taken.

Officers also spoke to a store employee who said the suspect left that parking lot going west on 700 South.

The whole incident was captured on the store’s security camera that showed a man wearing blue pants and a white shirt get into the Toyota before fleeing from the parking lot.

Officers viewing the footage also recognized the suspect from several recent interactions and identified the man as 28-year-old Chander Sunny Moore, of Dammeron Valley.

Officers began scouring the area in search of the vehicle, and minutes later an officer spotted the car at the Maverik Adventure’s First Stop on Westridge Drive and conducted a traffic stop. The Toyota stopped, but as soon as the officer approached, the report states that Moore took off heading eastbound towards Sunset Boulevard at a high rate of speed.

The pursuit was terminated shortly thereafter due to the risk to the public.

Meanwhile, officers were dispatched to a residential burglary that was still in progress at a home on North 1275 West, and according to initial reports, the suspect was still inside of the residence.

Officers arrived to find Moore inside of the home and he was taken into custody by police. The Toyota was subsequently recovered less than a block from the residence the suspect had reportedly broken into.

The Toyota owner also arrived at the scene and when he looked inside of the car, he noticed the GoPro and the iPad were both missing, which, according to the report, the items were valued at more than $1,400.

While speaking to police, Moore told officers he had hidden the Toyota key  inside of a trailer located on the side of the residence where the burglary had been reported minutes earlier, and when officers were unable to locate the key, Moore retrieved it from where he had allegedly hidden it and handed it over to police.

Moore was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked into jail at 6:30 a.m., facing two felony counts of theft and one count of felony evading. He also faces a misdemeanor count of violating a protective order — charges that were forwarded to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review.

Stock image of Purgatory Correctional Facility | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

The report also states that officers had “dealt with Chander multiple times over the past 24 hours,” a period in which the suspect had allegedly broken into two homes, stolen one vehicle and ran from officers, all the while showing a total disregard for the public’s safety,” the officer noted.

As such, that arresting officer requested that Moore be held without bail, citing the high risk of danger the suspect poses to the public.

A review of court records revealed that Moore was on pretrial release on three misdemeanor drug cases when the arrest on Monday took place. All three cases were filed in December within days of one another.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders 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.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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