ST. GEORGE — A Washington City man and an alleged accomplice appeared in court Wednesday after they were arrested by Cedar City Police in connection with a string of vehicle and residential burglaries reported across Iron, Washington and Utah counties; all the stolen property recovered by police has been linked to the rightful owners, according to police.
Police said they had reason to believe more than one individual was involved in the burglaries reported across the three counties over a span of several weeks, and hours after Patrick Scott Beckwith, 26, of Las Vegas, was arrested Jan. 4, his alleged accomplice, 26-year-old Kyle Pace Moody, of Washington City, was also taken into custody.
Police arrested Beckwith following a short foot pursuit with police earlier that morning after a Walmart employee recognized him from surveillance footage taken inside the store during a prior incident and called police, Cedar City Police Sgt. Jerry Womack told St. George News.
Read more: Cedar City police arrest man for string of burglaries across 3 counties
During an interview with police, Beckwith allegedly admitted he had been involved in multiple vehicle burglaries in the Cedar City area, a confession that came after police had received multiple reports of both vehicle and residential burglaries over several days, where numerous credit and/or debit cards were stolen.
During a search of Beckwith’s vehicle and residence, investigators found evidence linking him to several vehicle burglaries, along with property allegedly stolen from two vehicles in particular that were parked inside the garages of separate residences, leading investigators to believe more than one suspect was involved.
During the spree, the suspects allegedly used stolen credit/debit cards taken in the various burglaries to purchase thousands of dollars in merchandise, along with a curved, flat-screen television, video gaming system and games, a laptop computer, a handgun and other property taken.
At the time of Beckwith’s arrest, stolen property from multiple burglaries and thefts was located and retrieved by police, and while some of the items were identified as belonging to a number of victims, other property remained unidentified.
Womack said Friday that police have made a positive identification on all of the property recovered in connection with the case, and have located the property owners.
Court records show that Beckwith and Moody appeared at a preliminary hearing in 5th District Court in Cedar City Wednesday on five felony charges, including two second-degree felony counts for burglary, one second-degree felony count for theft by receiving stolen property, as well as one count for unlawful acquisition/possession/transfer of a credit card and one count for unlawful use of a financial transaction card offense, both third-degree felonies.
Beckwith and Moody are scheduled to return to court Jan. 24, and both remain in jail on $20,000 bail.
This report is based on statements from police or other emergency 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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