ST. GEORGE — A St. George man threw a bit of a tantrum Monday screaming at the top of his lungs, taking off his pants and kicking and bucking at officers while they were trying to take him into custody after he had allegedly been seen running directly into traffic in St. George.
Around 11:21 p.m., police responded to the area of 1385 W. 1200 North on the report of three people running in the roadway in front of cars, according to a probable cause statement written by St. George Police Officer David McDaniel in support of the arrest.
One man, identified as 19-year-old Codey Jaye Valdez-Wages, tried to run away from police, and actively resisted officers’ attempts to handcuff him and take him into custody.
“Codey continued to try and pull his wrists free while screaming at the top of his lungs,” McDaniel wrote in the statement. “Codey began kicking and actively tried to fall to the ground several time(s).”
While Valdez-Wages continued to yank his body away from officers, they observed a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, the statement said. They also noticed his eyes were bloodshot and glossy, and his speech was slurred.
The 19-year-old continued to resist officers as they walked him to the patrol car.
“As we approached the opened rear passenger door,” McDaniel said, “Codey kicked the door closed, leaving a dent and scuffing from his shoes. Codey then kicked the quarter panel immediately behind the door, also leaving a scuff.”
He was then told if he did not stop fighting, he would be placed in a hobble strap to control the movement of his legs.
McDaniel wrote in the statement:
Codey refused to stop and continued to fight. I retrieved my hobble and went to place it on him. Codey kicked and bucked several times while I attempted to apply the hobble. Codey then kicked me in the chest in a rear kick. Codey was placed into the hobble and carried into the back of my patrol car. Codey was buckled in but unbuckled himself and dropped his pants down. Codey continued to scream nonstop. Codey raked his arms against the inside of my cage and scratched himself in several places.
Officers learned Valdez-Wages had two outstanding warrants for his arrest; a $1,000 cash-only class B misdemeanor warrant issued by the Santa Clara Justice Court, and a class A misdemeanor warrant issued by the 5th District Court with no bail accepted.
Valdez-Wages was eventually arrested and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.
He was charged with a class A misdemeanor for assault on a police officer; two class B misdemeanors for interference with arresting officer and minor alcohol consumption; a class C misdemeanor for intoxication; and an infraction for not using the sidewalk.
His bail pending trial stands at $3,439 for Monday’s charges.
Valdez-Wages’ court arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.
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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Loser.
(needs to work on his anger-management skillset a bit more, i think)
Watch what you say, he is somebody’s brother and you’ll be branded a “Hater”.
Hate me all you want, this kid is beyond stupid.
(doubt the bros can spell that word, let alone know what it means)
Punks like this deserve the beat-down that normally occurs when resisting. He’s lucky this is Utah and not somewhere else. Book em Danno.
This boy has earned himself a spanking. Shame on you Codey!