UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE | March 29, 2024

DSU campus police wrap up burglary investigation

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Dixie State University campus police arrested the second and final suspect involved in a burglary at Campus Suites late Thursday evening.

Jerry Lamar Jones III, a former DSU student from Washington who attended the university in 2011, was arrested on Thursday and charged with one count of drug paraphernalia, one count of criminal mischief, one count of theft by deception, four counts of theft, two counts of vehicle burglary, and one count of burglary of a dwelling. He is currently in custody.

Hayden Michael Gray, of Ivins, was arrested Jan. 31 and was charged with two counts of vehicle burglary, one count of theft by deception, four counts of theft, one count of criminal mischief, one count of providing false information to the police, one count of drug possession, and one count of paraphernalia possession. He is currently in custody.

Seth Gubler, director of housing and resident life, said a man with a hoodie carrying a snowboard asked one of the residents who lives in Campus View Suites to let him in the building as he had forgotten his key card. The man was later identified as Jones. 

Don Reid, director of campus police, said he received a call from Gubler at 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 18. Campus police went to Campus View Suites and saw that wires were hanging from the ceiling in the student lounge.  

“A student who used his key card to come in after work through the front door saw somebody from the outside come up and pound on the window,” Reid said.

Campus police reviewed the cameras and saw the man wandering around the halls, who turned out to be Jones, Reid said.

“He came down and stood on the table in the lounge and takes the projector,” Reid said. “At this point, we had the footage, but had no idea who it is.”

A few hours later,  campus police received a call from a woman who was missing a snowboard and a young man who was missing a toolbox, Reid said. They took reports from them both. 

Campus police then checked social media for sales of these items, Reid said. They found the toolbox and had someone call to arrange a meeting for the purchase. The seller gave his name and address, and they were able to run the name doing a criminal history check, Reid said.

Sergeant Eldon Gibb was doing foot patrols later that same night and said he saw some men hiding in the shadows, in the area the car burglaries took place, Reid said. Gibb spoke with them and realized who they were and took them into custody.

Campus police contacted the county attorney’s office once they had a thorough case, Reid said.

“The reason between the time we solved the case until the time we actually did the formal arrest and made the bookings was because we had been in conversation with the county attorney and we wanted to make sure we verified the property and who it belonged to, “ Reid said.

It took a few days for them to find Jones, Reid said. 

“Jerry was also arrested because part of our investigation during that interim he had taken that snowboard right up the street and pawned the snowboard,” Reid said. “While he was doing that, he also stole a camera from [the pawn shop],” Reid said.

They asked Jones who the camera belonged to and he said it belonged to the pawn shop, Reid said.

“According to the pawn shop, they’ve got video tape of it,” Reid said. “When we found all of their stash, we also found a nice camera.”

The police report was filed and completed by Captain Ron Isaacson. They are not currently public record. The projector thus far has not been recovered.

“If there is something suspicious, let someone know,” Gubler said. “I hope students would report suspicious activity, it is always best to say something. It’s what the RA’s and campus police are here for.”