Tire store burglary caught on tape; suspect arrested

St. George Police officers talk to burglary suspect Christopher Michael Bishop who arrested after he was found inside Sunrise Tire early Friday morning, St. George, Utah, April 27, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Sunrise Tire, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A man suspected of breaking into a St. George tire store was arrested after hiding in a row of tires while police had the building surrounded during the early morning hours Friday.

Christopher Michael Bishop of LaVerkin, Utah, bookings photo from April 27, 2018 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Christopher Michael Bishop, 32, of LaVerkin, was arrested and booked into the Purgatory Correctional Facility and faces a second-degree felony count of theft of a motor vehicle, burglary and criminal mischief/theft, both second-degree felony counts, along with failing to stop for an officer’s command, a class B misdemeanor. Bishop is being held on $21,850 bail.

The incident began shortly before 2 a.m. when officers responded to an alarm activation at Sunrise Tire at 390 Red Cliffs Drive, St. George Police officer Lona Trombley said.

According to surveillance footage, Bishop was inside of the store when the first officer arrived.

Sunrise Tire’s co-owner and president, Travis Graff, said he also responded to the store after he was alerted to the alarm activation.

Meanwhile, additional officers arrived and surrounded the building.

The store is equipped with surveillance footage that captured Bishop entering the store through an area near the ceiling.

Officers also observed Bishop as he opened multiple drawers along the counter in the front of the store, Trombley said.

Surveillance footage shows arrest at Sunrise Tire on Red Cliffs Drive after a man is caught inside of the store early Friday morning, St. George, Utah, April 27, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Sunrise Tire, St. George News

The surveillance footage showed him loading tools and other items into an off-road vehicle parked inside the building near one of the mechanic’s bays. When he heard officers approaching attempted to exit through the rear of the store, but was unable to do so without being detected.

As multiple police cars responded, Bishop made his way to a row of tires located above the shop, where he hid from officers as they entered the building.

Officers located Bishop, took him into custody and transported him to jail.

This is the first burglary ever reported at Sunrise Tire during its 28-year history, Graff said, and the only other incident involved used tires that were stolen a few years ago.

Surveillance footage shows arrest at Sunrise Tire on Red Cliffs Drive after a man is caught inside of the store early Friday morning, St. George, Utah, April 27, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Sunrise Tire, St. George News

Graff added that over the years the alarm was set off accidentally a number of times, and he has paid the false alarm fines “willingly” because he appreciated that officers responded to the store each time.

“I’m grateful that they acted even in those times when they weren’t require to act,” Graff said.

The surveillance footage showed the suspect’s activity and what transpired inside of the store and shop, which “gave us a pretty good idea of what his intent was, and what he was busy doing,” Graff said.

What stood out to the owner the most, he said, is the professionalism of the officers, and the fact that instead of rushing everything to get the incident resolved, they chose to handle the situation effectively, which resulted in a “positive outcome.”

He also noted that the officers’ actions resulted in no loss of merchandise and minimal damage to the store, “so we didn’t really lose anything.”

Graff continued, “We are so appreciative of the St. George Police Department, and when I got here they already had the building surrounded,” Graff said, “and their quick response and professional manner which ended with the guy being apprehended.”

Bishop remains in custody at the writing of this report.

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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Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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7 Comments

  • comments April 27, 2018 at 9:27 pm

    Sometimes it’s a good thing that we have a lot of bored cops in this town just waiting for calls.

    And are those hunting coveralls? He couldn’t have done any better at looking like meth-head trailer trash.

    • comments April 27, 2018 at 9:31 pm

      Oh there was a matching jacket with the coveralls. That’s a little better i guess. Maybe this tire store ripped the guy off or damaged his car the way Big O Tire does to people in this town. Actually I feel a lot better knowing he had a jacket to match. My opinion of the guy isn’t so bad now.

      • Striker4 April 28, 2018 at 6:46 am

        You need to get out of your mothers basement once in awhile

        • comments April 28, 2018 at 9:52 am

          i should say the same to you, Dumper.

          • mesaman April 28, 2018 at 8:23 pm

            How about the ATV getaway vehicle. He was creatively stupid.

  • Carpe Diem April 27, 2018 at 9:42 pm

    I’ve heard of druggies putting their truck up their nose, but tires? Nasty after taste for sure!

  • Mike P April 29, 2018 at 12:00 pm

    He looks like a fine young man there doesn’t he ?

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