ST. GEORGE — A man who allegedly signed his own name while stealing fuel six times from a gas station earlier this year was sentenced Wednesday to 60 days in jail.
Brian Nelson Broadbent, of St. George, allegedly got away with stealing $350 worth in gas from Lightfoot’s Fuel Center in Ivins in March by using the handwritten account of a local business. Each time he used the business account, police said Broadbent signed his own name on the ledger inside the gas station.
He was arrested at his home in St. George on March 28 and charged with felonies for identity fraud and theft by deception.
“It wasn’t too hard to find him because he used his real name,” Santa Clara-Ivins Police officer Randy Hancey said after the arrest
Read more: St. George man signs own name while allegedly stealing gas 6 separate times
Broadbent pleaded guilty to the crime in August, and his 60-day jail sentence was handed down by Judge G. Michael Westfall in the 5th District Court in St. George. Exactly when Broadbent will serve his sentence will be up to him after he speaks with his employer about when he can take the 60 days off work.
In his address to the court Wednesday, Broadbent apologized to anyone he hurt in the community and talked about how his charges have affected his life. He said the reason he commits crimes is because he “doesn’t use his brain sometimes.”
“As far as being sorrowful, I am – for everything,” Broadbent said. “Seeing my picture in bookings and my name out there has hurt me more than anything.”
He also talked about how it has been an “eye-opener” for him to start working at a regular job.
Additional theft charges
The alleged fuel theft wasn’t Broadbent’s first time being accused of stealing, nor was it his last. He faced similar charges in 2017, resulting in a felony theft conviction last November. He was also charged in August with a felony for an alleged incident in February.
Broadbent also is accused of stealing a mountain bike from his girlfriend and two rings from his girlfriend’s mother, including the woman’s wedding ring and another ring that were each valued at $3,000, according to the probable cause statement. After stealing the bike and the rings, he sold them at a pawn shop in St. George, police said.
Because the woman did not often wear the rings, she didn’t discover them to be missing until March or April, and after speaking with her husband, she suspected the rings to have been stolen. Broadbent was arrested for the crime in August.
When questioned about the rings, Broadbent admitted to selling the rings but said the rings were given to him by his girlfriend – a story that his girlfriend adamantly denied, according to the probable cause statement.
Broadbent admitted to selling his girlfriend’s $3,000 bike without her permission, police said. He had given her a check for the bike, which bounced when she tried to deposit it.
Both rings and the mountain bike were recovered from the pawn shop after Broadbent was arrested.
Court documents indicate Broadbent has been making restitution payments for the alleged thefts. His next court appearance for the case involving the fuel theft will be Nov. 7, when the dates of his jail sentence will be set.
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Oh I can’t wait to see the comments on this one.
No comment.
Is it really identity fraud if he used his own name?
I lost another sock in the dryer again
As the old saying goes – “The difference between intelligence and stupidity is…….there’s a limit to intelligence”.
I’m still trying to get over the fact that someone, ANYONE would pay $3,000 for a friggin’ bicycle !