ST. GEORGE —A local man on probation for two assault cases was arrested following an altercation at the library in St. George where police say he threatened several patrons when he was asked to turn down his music.
Chandler Scott Pitts, 25, was formally charged Wednesday with one third-degree felony count of threat of terrorism for interrupting an occupied public building.
The charge stems from an incident reported shortly after 7 p.m. when officers responded to a disorderly conduct call at the Washington County Public Library located on West 100 South in St. George.
According to charging documents filed in 5th District Court, officers arrived to find the Pitts in the parking lot, and he walked up to one of the officer’s patrol vehicles stating he “did not do anything and everyone is lying” and started to walk away.
Pitts was told he was being detained and to stand to the side while officers spoke to witnesses, one of whom said the suspect was “being loud and playing music” inside the library while a meeting was taking place inside a study room.
When an attendee asked Pitts to turn the music down, the report states, the suspect started to yell at the complainant and moved within “a few inches” of the reporting party’s face. From there, the suspect started yelling at several patrons and reportedly said he “was going to bomb the library,” the officer noted.
The suspect’s statements were supported by two security guards who witnessed the commotion, along with several other patrons who provided similar statements to police. One of them told officers the suspect was “cussing her out and yelling at her,” while another witness overheard the suspect say “he was going to come back and shoot up the library.”
Based on multiple corroborating statements, officers arrested Pitts and transported him to Purgatory Correctional Facility where he was booked into jail. The following morning, the case was filed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office.
The incident at the library is not the suspect’s first brush with the law. Pitts was on probation for an aggravated assault case filed last summer.
In that case, the incident was reported on the evening of June 11, 2022, when officers were dispatched to Town Square Park on Main Street in St. George on a report of a possible assault involving a suspect who was threatening “to shoot people” and was holding a knife as he continued shouting at several park visitors.
Officers arrived to find a group of residents near the central area of the park, while one of the first responding officers was ordering the suspect, later identified as Pitts, to stop and to drop the folding knife he had in his hand. While the suspect appeared highly agitated as officers continued to shout orders for him to drop the knife, minutes later, the suspect complied and the knife dropped to the ground.
Officers spoke to the two witnesses, one of whom said he was at the park with his young children and was speaking to his wife on his cell phone when the suspect approached with the knife in his hand. The suspect, the witness stated, began to curse and yell at him as he pointed the knife in his direction, so he placed himself in between the suspect to protect his children.
The second witness said he observed the suspect approach the man with the three small children and started yelling and cursing at him, and he also heard the suspect allegedly threaten to kill the man. As the witness approached to assist the father, he said the suspect threatened to “kill him and his dog,” and Pitts started walking away after the witness pulled his concealed firearm.
Pitts was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked into jail.
On Sept. 03, 2022, while still in custody following the incident at the park, Pitts reportedly struck an inmate in the head in what corrections staff determined was an “unprovoked” assault after reviewing security footage. He was charged with third-degree felony count of assault by a prisoner.
Three weeks later, the defendant pleaded guilty to the charge that was reduced to a misdemeanor during a resolution hearing held Sept. 27, 2022. During that same hearing, the defendant pleaded guilty to third-degree felony aggravated assault, as well as misdemeanor drug and weapons possession charges in connection with the incident at the park. He was placed on three years’ probation and given credit for time served in both cases.
Following the arrest on Tuesday, the suspect was placed on a probation hold and remains in custody 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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