ST. GEORGE —A 25-year-old man was arrested on a felony robbery charge following an incident involving a meeting that took place at one of the Washington City parks to sell a hoodie adorned with fake diamonds that ended with the buyer pulling a knife, police say, and the possible beating of the seller.
Police responded Dec. 9 to a report of an apparent robbery that occurred at one of the parks in Washington City shortly after 8 p.m. They arrived to learn that a man was robbed after he showed up to sell a hoodie with “fake diamonds” affixed to a jacket.
The seller said he had posted an online advertisement, and then arrangements were made to meet the buyer at the park to complete the transaction. When the suspect showed up, officers say, the seller approached and asked if he was there to buy the hoodie, which is when the suspect produced a knife and demanded the seller hand over the hoodie.
When the reporting party refused and started to walk away, the report states, the suspect beat the victim and then took the jacket and left.
Washington City Police Chief Jason Williams told St. George News that the suspect, according to the reporting party’s account, punched the seller in the face five times and then ran off with the jacket. When officers checked the victim for injuries, however, Williams said the alleged attack left no visible markings on the man’s face or none that were still visible when he was checked by police.
As the suspect fled, he ran past a security camera that captured a clear image of the suspect’s face, and according to the report, the footage also showed him running with the hoodie in his hands.
Officers caught up a few days later with the suspect, William Alexander Smith, 25, of Washington City, who reportedly denied being at the park that night, saying he “had nothing to do with the robbery,” according to the report.
Confronted with the security footage, the suspect continued to insist he was not at the park that night.
Smith was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked into jail on one second-degree count of robbery and obstruction of justice, a misdemeanor. The charges were filed on Friday and he remains in custody without bail.
Williams said the incident appeared suspicious, adding that police suspect there may have been other “nefarious activities” afoot at the park that night. He went on to say those were only suspicions, but the exchange appeared to be somewhat strange.
He also said the Washington City Police Department participates in the “Safe Exchange” program that was originally developed to provide a safe, neutral environment to bring about the transfer of children from one parent to another. These exchanges can take place in front of the Washington City Police Department, Williams said, which has video surveillance that can record the exchange.
The same holds true in situations where a seller arranges to meet with a buyer for the first time to complete an online sale, for example, or for anyone who may feel some anxiety over meeting a buyer for the first time in person, he said, who would rather arrange such a meeting in front of the police department to feel safer.
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.