57-year-old man allegedly beats homeless woman with 6-foot pole

St. George Police cruiser stock image | Photo by Austin Peck, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A 57-year-old man is in police custody after allegedly beating a homeless woman with a 6-foot pole because he believed the woman had stolen from him.

Officers responded to an aggravated assault that had allegedly occurred on the west side of St. George at approximately 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to a probable cause statement filed by the St. George Police Department in support of the arrest.

Frank Robinson, of St. George, Utah, booking photo posted April 11, 2017 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

The homeless woman had been staying in a small tent approximately 75 feet from where the man, identified as Frank Robinson, was living in his tent.

The woman was sleeping in her tent when Robinson arrived at his tent, the report stated. Robinson was upset with the woman because he suspected she had stolen items from his tent the night before.

“Frank (Robinson) retrieved a metal fence pole that was approximately 6 feet long,” the arresting officer wrote in a sworn statement. “Frank began hitting (the woman’s) tent with the metal pole, yelling at her and accusing her of stealing his property. When Frank struck (the woman’s) tent with the metal pole, it tore a large hole in one of its sides.”

When the woman woke up and climbed out of her tent to see what was going on, Robinson allegedly struck her across the face with the metal pole before striking her in the arm, according to the report.

“(The woman) had a significant injury to the right side of her face near her cheek and to her right hand,” the officer stated. “… (The woman) had another injury on her left arm near her triceps … .”

Police were called and Robinson was questioned about the alleged assault.

“Frank admitted to having struck (the woman) in the face with his metal fence pole,” the officer stated. “Frank described his actions as being in ‘self-defense.’”

Robinson told police that the woman had a “homemade Japanese stick” that she had tried to hit him with, according to the statement. However, police were unable to locate a Japanese stick to support his claims.

Robinson was arrested and transported to the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.

The Washington County Attorney’s Office filed an information in 5th District Court accusing Robinson of third-degree felony aggravated assault along with a class B misdemeanor for criminal mischief.

Judge Eric A. Ludlow, of the 5th District Court, ordered $5,000 bail for Robinson’s release pending trial.

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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Twitter: @STGnews

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

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4 Comments

  • Proud Rebel April 14, 2017 at 7:58 pm

    Arresting this guy is almost like rewarding him for his actions. He now has 3 hots and a cot, for the immediate future. His victim is likely still staying in her tent, wondering where her next meal is coming from.

  • mmsandie April 14, 2017 at 8:25 pm

    With Switchpoint and other places why are people still in tents???he,lll now be in jail, with TV, phone, uniform food and be happy

  • Rob83 April 15, 2017 at 8:39 am

    Switch Point has limited space available. I know many people who were placed on a waiting list. Atleast we have a homeless shelter though and they are making many upgrades constantly, there are just a lot of homeless people..

  • karensg April 15, 2017 at 8:46 pm

    Where on the west side of St. George can homeless people stay in tents?

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