Littering leads to stolen vehicle arrest

ST GEORGE – Bobby Coleman and Yolanda Connelly of California were arrested Monday night, after Utah Highway Patrol stopped the car on St. George Boulevard for littering.

Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Matthew Pratt exited I-15 northbound onto the St. George Boulevard around midnight behind a passenger car with California Plates.

Bobby Coleman of California, July 23, 2014 | Photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News
Bobby Coleman of California, July 29, 2014 | Photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

“As the car approached the top of the ramp,” Pratt said, “I observed the passenger throw a lit cigarette out of the window. I had dispatch run the plate of the vehicle before stopping it around 1000 E. St. George Blvd.”

Before Pratt approached the vehicle, dispatch informed him that the vehicle was stolen out of San Diego County, California.

Another Utah Highway Patrol Trooper and St. George Police Officers arrived on scene to assist Pratt.

“Both the driver and passenger came out of the vehicle, and complied with officers,” Pratt said.

Coleman and Connelly were both detained as troopers confirmed with the San Diego County that the vehicle was stolen.

“As I was speaking to Coleman, who was driving, I could tell he was impaired,” Pratt said. “The passenger admitted to having marijuana on her.”

Yolanda Connelly, of California, July 29, 2014 | Photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News
Yolanda Connelly, of California, July 29, 2014 | Photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Both Coleman and Connelly were arrested by Pratt and transported to the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.

Coleman was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony, and driving under the influence, a class-B misdemeanor. His bail is set at $11,405.

Connelly was charged with possession of a controlled substance, a class-B misdemeanor, and throwing lighted material from a vehicle, a class-C misdemeanor. Her bail is set at $933.

Both are still in police custody as this report is published.

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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14 Comments

  • Zeke July 29, 2014 at 11:35 am

    “Sand” Diego ??

    • Avatar photo Joyce Kuzmanic July 29, 2014 at 1:14 pm

      Got it, thank you, sorry.
      JOYCE
      EIC

    • Mary July 29, 2014 at 3:02 pm

      Hey , as I recall , the beach is fun of sand at the beach in ol’ Diego .

  • IQ92 July 29, 2014 at 2:22 pm

    Way to go Trooper Pratt, i hate littering worse than car theft.

    • Mary July 29, 2014 at 3:04 pm

      I do believe the real issue was the “litter” was a lit cigarette ,
      which around here can equal a wildfire very quickly .

    • Lesson July 29, 2014 at 4:01 pm

      Guess you don’t go around the downtown splashpad much, do you? Those people are extremely trashy. But hey, you pay city workers to pick up after them, right?

  • Andy July 29, 2014 at 2:47 pm

    Lit “cigarette.” Sure. To those who think marijuana does no harm…every sober Californian knows the ol’ lit cigarette toss is probable cause to get pulled over. Give a hoot, don’t give the cops cause to pull you over for the stolen car.

  • Littering July 29, 2014 at 3:53 pm

    How many stolen vehicles are in Hildale and Colorado City? Those people litter like crazy! Just look at the size of their litters! As many as 12 if not more in their litters!

  • Lesson July 29, 2014 at 4:00 pm

    While capturing two people in a stolen car, one can only wonder the degree of profiling that exists with St George police. Motorists in St George don’t use turn signals, speed, block intersections, stop in cross walks, throw stuff out the car windows and drive cars that you question how it ever passed a safety inspection. Yet, they never are pulled over, let alone cited. The lesson learned is if you have out of state tags, you had better get your nose clean, because the cops seem to be watching for out of state tags and just looking for reasons to stop you.

    • Char July 29, 2014 at 5:46 pm

      I take it you are not pleased that people who stole a car were caught and arrested? Littering is littering. Especially a lit cigarette in our dry/drought climate.

    • My Evil Twin July 29, 2014 at 7:16 pm

      Lesson, you sir, or madam, as the case may be, are an idiot!

      • that guy July 30, 2014 at 12:46 am

        Your really going to say that? That makes you a troll.

    • Duemas July 29, 2014 at 10:11 pm

      Learn to read!

  • that guy July 30, 2014 at 12:50 am

    Any body with a scaner knows that only one out of ten traffic stops called in to dispatch are local. All the rest are out of state.

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