Task force nabs man distributing drugs in drug buy

ST. GEORGE – A St. George man was arrested for drug possession and distribution after the Washington County Drug Task Force conducted a controlled drug buy using a confidential informant.

Mathew Scott Obryant, of St. George, Utah, booking photo posted Sept. 6, 2014 | Photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff’s booking, St. George News
Mathew Scott Obryant, of St. George, Utah, booking photo posted Sept. 6, 2014 | Photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff’s booking, St. George News

In June 2014, the task force conducted a narcotics distribution investigation in St. George through the use of a confidential informant who purchased illegal drugs from 33-year-old Mathew Scott Obryant, task force Detective E. Judy said in his probable cause statement supporting the arrest.

“The informant was equipped with an electronic listening and recording device in which Detectives could monitor the transaction,” Judy said in the statement.

The location was arranged by Obryant, he said, and was within 1,000 feet of a school, making the location a drug free zone and enhancing his charges.

Obryant was arrested and charged with three first-degree felonies for drug possession with intent to distribute; two second-degree felonies for drug possession with intent to distribute; and two class B misdemeanors for outstanding warrants.

Obryant was booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility on Saturday. His bail is set at $83,180.

Obryant is scheduled to make his initial court appearance Monday.

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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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.

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10 Comments

  • Opanke September 8, 2014 at 5:23 pm

    I get , drugs are offensive. But killing your baby gets you are free in Hurricane.

    • ladybugavenger September 8, 2014 at 6:33 pm

      #fundraiser

    • koolaid September 8, 2014 at 6:33 pm

      Only if you are worthy, as does embezzling tens of thousands of dollars through work gets you a slap of the wrist, but only if you are worthy.

  • that guy September 8, 2014 at 6:29 pm

    It never ceases to amze me when I read these stories of drug bust. That the have been busted by a confidential informant ( some one they know and trust.) Yet they want to blame everyone else, the neighbors, the cops. But never their friends what a bunch of morons.

  • Rebel Girl September 8, 2014 at 10:47 pm

    Confidential Informants aren’t always friends. They are often cops undercover that pretend to be a friend for several months to years.

    • EL JEFE September 9, 2014 at 9:21 am

      REBEL GIRL, sounds as if you have personal knowledge of how it works. Have you, by any chance, been a CI at one time or other? If so, I would be very careful of posting my photo online.

  • bobber September 9, 2014 at 2:13 am

    I bet brother Mathew Scott Obryant is wishing he’d have served a mission. He would have got a walk or a wrist slap and got to keep his recommend…

    • EL JEFE September 9, 2014 at 9:22 am

      BOBBER, Bro. Matt has BEEN serving as an unlicensed pharmacist for awhile. His competition did him in.

  • Jon R. Cocktoasten September 9, 2014 at 10:04 am

    Confidential informants are just that, informants. If this were a police officer, he would be called an undercover police officer. That is all!

  • ladybugavenger September 9, 2014 at 10:39 am

    Confidential informant- a customer that got caught but in order to get off or a lighter sentence will take you down

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