ST. GEORGE — A string of incidents reported at one of Utah Tech University’s student housing units early Tuesday morning ended in arrest for a Washington City teen accused of burglary of a dwelling and aggravated assault for reportedly pulling a knife on two other students.
The investigation was prompted by a call Tuesday shortly before 7 a.m. to the UT Police Department, reporting a man arguing with one of the occupants outside of one of the student housing units off of 100 South in St. George.
The initial report also indicated the suspect had brandished a knife during a verbal altercation, which is when several St. George Police officers also responded to the scene to assist.
Ron Bridge, UT’s police chief, told St. George News that officers from St. George responded as a matter of policy, since there were reports of a weapon being involved. As such, the situation was considered a major incident that requires more than one or two officers, so additional officers were called in to assist.
Officers arrived to find three men sitting to the south of the tower, including 18-year-old Cristian Quintana, and during a search of Quintana officers recovered a knife from the front pocket of his pants that was later determined to be the weapon that was reportedly pulled on the other teens.
Earlier that night, the report states, the trio was in one of the apartments and just as two of the occupants were going to sleep, they were awakened by Quintana “spazzing out” with a knife, prompting one of the occupants to whisper to the other to call police.
The suspect left the apartment and while outside, the teen started yelling, which awakened the housing assistant who went outside thinking someone was in danger. The assistant found Quintana and asked if he was okay, which is when he pulled a knife and confronted the assistant.
Undaunted, the occupants and the resident assistant continued their efforts to talk Quintana down, while a third teen called 911.
Responding officers determined that Quintana was the alleged aggressor, while the other two teens were a student and a resident assistant.
The suspect was transported to the St. George Police Department while investigators processed the scene.
Through the course of the investigation, officers learned that a burglary had been reported earlier that evening.
During the earlier incident, the reporting party was sleeping and awoke to find a man in his dorm room who “stood there for a while” and then left. The occupant also said that once the suspect was gone, he noticed that his room and car keys were missing.
When the occupant went outside, they found the keys lying on the ground a short distance from the apartment.
The suspect described by the witness matched Quintana, the report states, and he was arrested by police.
Bridge said Quintana was not a student of the university when the incidents took place, adding he was trespassed from the property shortly after his arrest.
The suspect was then transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked on multiple charges, including second-degree felony burglary and three third-degree felony counts of aggravated assault.
Bridge said the incident serves as an example of the police department’s efforts in addressing criminal behavior quickly to keep the students safe. He went on to say it is the partnerships that exist between the campus police department and their law enforcement partners, including the St. George Police Department, that has made policing across the campus so effective, and is likely one of the reasons Utah Tech was rated as one of the safest schools in the country.
In fact, in 2020, Utah Tech University Department of Public Safety was ranked third in the top 25 list for accomplishments in improving campus safety, out of more than 4,200 schools that were eligible.
Following the arrest Tuesday, Quintana remains in custody without bail.
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