Month: November 2011

A St. George man is behind bars after allegedly breaking and entering into an apartment complex and assaulting his ex-girlfriend and her friend.

According to St. George police, 25-year-old Cameron Carson learned of his ex-girlfriend visiting a male friend here in St. George. “Out of what we believe was jealousy, Mr. Carson located the apartment and broke in with the intent to harm them both,” St. George police Captain James Van Fleet told SUN News.

Using the handle of a shovel and his bare hands, Carson allegedly began assaulting the male until he turned his attention to his ex-girlfriend.

“She was able to escape the apartment but Carson followed her to the parking lot where he continued to assault her,” Van Fleet said, “Luckily, a neighbor heard the ex-girlfriend’s distress and ran to aid her.”

The neighbor then was able to detain Carson and hold him until police arrived.

The woman was relatively uninjured, and her male friend was checked into the hospital but was later released with minor bruising, scrapes and scratches.

Carson was booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility, charged on two counts of aggravated assault with a weapon and 1 count of aggravated burglary of a dwelling. His bond is set at $300,000.

“The bond is set at such a high amount to ensure no one else gets hurt,” Van Fleet said, “We just want to make sure everyone remains safe, especially between now and his meeting with the judge.”

A pesonal trainer who was arrested in June for illegal sexual conduct with a 14-year old boy, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of forced sexual abuse yesterday in Fifth District Court. 

Suni Faith Anderson, 36, could face one to 15 years in prison, but was issued a plea agreement in the case, in which five charges of forcible sodomy and three additional sex offenses were dropped. 

The relationship reportedly took place in between 2008 and 2009, after the training sessions had already begun. And according to court document, Anderson said via phone conversation that she knew the relationship was wrong, but was in love with the boy. 

Anderson is scheduled to be sentenced January 31. 

A record number of shoppers were lured in on Cyber Monday, resulting in a 33 percent increase in U.S. sales compared to last year’s Monday after Thanksgiving.

IBM’s fourth annual Cyber Monday benchmark study reported, “Consumers spent an average of 2.6 percent more this year than they did in 2010, with the value of an average online order rising from $193.24 to $198.26 this year.”

A new trend also setting records was the number of shoppers using smartphones or tablets to purchase Cyber Monday goods. The day saw 10 percent of people making purchases using a mobile device, up 3.9% from 2010.

“Consumers flocked online, with shopping momentum hitting its highest peak at 11:05 a.m. PST/2:05 p.m. EST,” IBM said in the statement. “Consumer shopping also maintained strong momentum after commuting hours on both the East and West coast.”

So, how did Cyber Monday compare with Black Friday? IBM reported Cyber Monday brought in 29.3 percent more online sales than did Black Friday.

After a complicated decade for the airline business, the parent company of industry-giant American Airlines declared bankruptcy Tuesday morning.

Thomas Horton, who will be succeeding the retiring Gerard Arpey as CEO, has stated that the filing was due to cost disadvantages when compared to rival airlines.

After today, JetBlue and Southwest will be the only major U.S. airlines who have not yet filed for bankruptcy. 

American Airlines has stated that it will continue to honor tickets and reservations, as well as operate by its standard flight schedules while processing the bankruptcy.

Former multimillionaire Jeremy Johnson spent several hours in jail Sunday after Hurricane police learned of a warrant for his arrest.

“We got a call from a citizen saying he was driving a car that wasn’t his,” Hurricane Public Information Officer Nancy Perkins told SUN News. “After the stop, we found he had permission to drive the car, but our routine background check found an outstanding warrant for his arrest out of Nevada.”

35-year-old Johnson was then booked into Washington County Purgatory with a cash-only bail of $112,150.

The warrant, originating from Clark County, was a total of six bounced checks Johnson had written for cash or gaming chips at the Wynn hotel and casino, according to Clark County District Attorneys.

According to the Deseret News, Johnson responded to the incident saying, “There was plenty of money to cover all the checks written on the accounts. The government decided to bounce them not me. They are very angry with me at the moment so this is their retaliation. They badly want me back in jail where I can’t defend myself in the case.”

Johnson was bailed out of jail later Sunday night.

Mesquite Police Department is currently investigating a drive-by shooting that occurred in the area of Sandhill Boulevard and First North Street at approximately at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

The suspects, who were in a blue Buick sedan, allegedly began chasing and shooting at the victim’s vehicle. The victim was not injured. Local officers arrived at the scene to search for the vehicle and speak with witnesses, while the Mesquite Investigative Services Division (ISD) recovered evidence, including surveillance video of both vehicles involved.

Mesquite S.W.A.T. served a search warrant at a local residence where the suspect vehicle was located Wednesday. ISD executed the warrant and impounded the vehicle. ISD also searched the residence for evidence.

Arrest warrants have been issued for the driver and the passenger of the suspect vehicle. The suspects are identified as Freddy Armora, 19, of Beaver Dam, Ariz., and Gadiel Chavez, 21, of Mesquite. One suspect is a known member of the West Side Rebels 13 criminal street gang and the second suspect is a known associate.

Anyone who has information of the shooting or location of Armora and Chavez are urged to contact the Mesquite Police Department at (702) 346-5262.

A former southern Utah law enforcement officer was arrested Monday for allegedly sexually abusing a young family member over the course of two years.

60-year-old Kevin Davis was booked into Washington County Jail on five counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child under the age 14. Washington City Police are still investigating the situation.

Davis’s bail is set at $100,000.