ST. GEORGE — Santa Clara-Ivins Police and St. George Police combined forces Monday to find a suspect they said vandalized a St. George Police vehicle and another passenger vehicle on Sunday in Ivins.
Both police agencies released surveillance photos of a female Monday morning they said stole the license plates off both vehicles and “keyed” or deliberately put scratch marks in the paint of the two vehicles.
By the late afternoon, police said they arrested a woman identified as Star Wall in connection with the crimes after receiving a tip from the public.
Wall’s booking information had yet to be released but police said she is being accused of theft, criminal mischief and vandalism.
“Who vandalizes a police car?” Officer Tiffani Mitchell of the St. George Police said. “It’s bonkers.”
Police said the St. George Police vehicle, which was parked in Ivins, had its license plates ripped off and was keyed with scratches all the way down the vehicle, across the St. George Police decals and it appeared the suspect had tried to scratch off the patrol car numbers on the back.
Authorities say another private vehicle was vandalized in Ivins by the same suspect. It also had its license plates ripped off and keyed scratches across the hood.
It did not appear that the suspect or suspects attempted to steal either vehicle.
Sgt. Reed Briggs with the Santa Clara-Ivins Police said while it may seem like vandalizing a police vehicle would make it seem easy to catch a suspect, they were actually lucky to catch the suspect thanks to the public’s help and their comrades in St. George.
“I’ll be honest. This was extremely fortunate,” Briggs said. “This was a group effort between us and St. George Police.”
Briggs said along with the social media blast, the photo of the suspect was also taken around to local businesses and some were able to identify her. But the best tip came off a St. George Police Facebook post, with Briggs saying St. George Police have a much larger social media reach.
“We received a phone tip from that and somehow the person knew where she worked and knew her by the first name,” Briggs said.
Briggs said the motive for the crime is still being determined, but mental health is mostly being ruled out because of what they say the suspect was found with.
“When arrested, she was found with methamphetamine,” Briggs said. “We were anticipating mental health but it looks like it was more drug-induced.”
The suspect has also been linked to an attempted break-in of an Ivins home on Sunday, though police are still looking at pending charges in that case.
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.
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