ST. GEORGE —A couple was arrested late Monday after an officer in St. George spotted the suspect’s vehicle pulling into a local motel where a search of the car and the motel room yielded several stolen items and other evidence that may tie the suspects to a string of recent crimes.
The arrest stems from a vehicle burglary reported the previous day in Santa Clara that set off a series of what authorities say were several unauthorized charges on a bank card taken from the car during the break-in.
Santa Clara-Ivins Police Sgt. Reed Briggs told St. George News the vehicle burglary was reported Sunday morning while the vehicle was parked in the area of Red Mountain Drive just east of Harmons Grocery in Santa Clara.
The reporting party told police that a Costco box containing a $600 e-bike was removed from the vehicle during the incident, as well as the owner’s debit card.
After the incident was reported to police, he said, the victim noticed a number of suspicious bank transactions from before she had a chance to cancel the card.
Over the next two days, the card was used a number of times for a purchase at a hardware store in Santa Clara, as well as at a gas station in St. George.
Both of the businesses provided police with video footage capturing the transactions that were completed using the card that police say was stolen from the vehicle. The footage also showed two suspects whom investigators identified as Thomas Russell Montoya and Rachel Larae Mitchell, both 35, making the fraudulent purchase. The footage also showed the pair leaving the store together.
Officers learned that just prior to the purchase at the hardware store, both suspects were seen pulling into the parking lot of the business together in a black Chrysler 300.
Similarly, the footage captured at a convenience store on Bluff Street in St. George showed Montoya making two separate purchases using the bank cards reportedly taken during the car break-in reported in Santa Clara.
Hours later, officers in St. George stopped the Chrysler as it pulled into the St. George Inn and Suites off Main Street after they spotted the car and suspected it was involved in the vehicle burglary in Santa Clara. Officers approached and told the driver, Montoya, and the front seat passenger, Mitchell, to exit that car, and the pair were detained by police.
During a search of the car, officers recovered two baggies of what later field tested positive for methamphetamine, along with other drug and paraphernalia-related items. Montoya told officers the drugs were his, the report states.
Also in the car were two young children who were not secured in child restraint devices, which officers noted also placed the youngsters within reach of the drugs located in the vehicle.
Following the vehicle search, officers obtained a search warrant for the motel room where the couple was staying, and during a search, they found evidence reportedly connected to the purchases made with the stolen cards, as well as the e-bike that was recovered from the room by police.
Montoya and Mitchell were then transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility shortly before midnight and were booked into jail on multiple charges.
Montoya faces 13 felony charges, including eight counts of unlawful acquisition of a financial card and two counts of unlawful use of a financial card, as well as one count of theft. He also faces two vehicle-related misdemeanors and a misdemeanor count of vehicle burglary. The suspect was also booked on a felony warrant issued out of Salt Lake City.
Mitchell faces 10 felony charges that include eight counts of unlawful acquisition of a financial card.
In addition, both suspects each face two third-degree felony counts of endangerment of a child for allegedly having the drugs within reach of the two young children, along with three misdemeanor drug and paraphernalia charges.
The officer also noted that Montoya’s theft charge was enhanced to a felony, due to the suspect’s criminal history that revealed at least two prior theft convictions within the last 10 years.
In fact, court records indicate the suspect has five felony cases filed since 2013, all of which include multiple charges and convictions in cases involving theft and fraudulent use of financial cards, as well as shoplifting and other crimes.
The investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be forthcoming.
Following the arrest Monday, both suspects remain in custody and Montoya is being held without bail.
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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