Man awaiting sentencing for felonies gets arrested again on stolen gun, drug charges

Stock image | St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A convicted felon awaiting sentencing in a felony case was stopped by police Friday and found to be in possession of a stolen gun along with a variety of drugs and drug paraphernalia.

While on patrol, police ran the license plate of a motorcycle traveling on a Washington City road. The records check showed the motorcycle registration had been canceled and that there was no insurance, according to a probable cause statement filed by the Washington City Police Department in support of the arrest.

Dalton Charles Hawley, of St. George, Utah, booking photo posted April 7, 2017 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Police pulled the motorcycle over and requested the rider’s information. However, the rider told police he didn’t have registration or proof of insurance because he had just purchased the motorcycle earlier in the day, the arresting officer wrote in a sworn statement.

The rider further told police he didn’t have his driver’s license on him, but he provided police with a name and date of birth, the report stated. When police ran the name through the state system, it returned showing two outstanding warrants had been issued for the man’s arrest and that the driver’s license was expired.

The man was placed under arrest for the warrants and subsequently searched, according to the statement. During the search, police allegedly located multiple syringes, methamphetamine and heroin.

“The male then stated the name he had given me was not his real name,” the officer wrote in the statement, noting that the man admitted to providing police with the name of a friend.

The man, who was eventually identified as 20-year-old Dalton Charles Hawley of St. George, told police he had concealed his own name because he thought he, himself, had a warrant out for his arrest, according to the statement.

Another records check confirmed Hawley had a felony warrant issued for his arrest.

As police searched Hawley’s backpack, they located a Glock handgun and a Taurus handgun with a serial number that showed the gun had been stolen in St. George, according to the report. Police also located pills identified as Clonazepam, a scale, additional syringes, a glass pipe and other items of drug paraphernalia.

“Dalton stated the syringes were for whomever needed a clean syringe and he admitted to smoking methamphetamine out of the pipe,” the officer stated.

Hawley also allegedly told police he was a convicted felon awaiting sentencing on a felony case.

Hawley was transported and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.

The Washington County Attorney’s Office filed an information in 5th District Court accusing Hawley of second-degree felony theft by receiving stolen property; two second-degree felony counts of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, two class A misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance; a class B misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia; and two class C misdemeanor counts of operating a vehicle without insurance and driving on a suspended license.

Judge Jeffrey Wilcox, of the 5th District Court, ordered $40,000 bail for Hawley’s release pending trial.

Hawley was found indigent by the court during his initial court appearance Friday and will be represented by court-appointed attorney Larry Meyers. He is scheduled to make his next court appearance April 17.

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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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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3 Comments

  • knobe April 8, 2017 at 10:18 pm

    “A convicted felon awaiting sentencing in a felony case” . . . ?
    I will Never understand a judicial bureaucracy that lets these thugs roam free after a conviction just because a sentence has not yet been determined .
    Sounds like the wisdom level of junior high kids . . .

  • utahdiablo April 9, 2017 at 12:10 pm

    Found to be “Indigent”…yet he just purchased a Motorcycle…a felon with a stolen gun, going to be a long sentence “Junior”

  • ladybugavenger April 10, 2017 at 8:29 pm

    I wouldn’t classify him as a man. He’s male but far from becoming a man.

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