ST. GEORGE — A St. George woman is in jail facing multiple felony charges after she was arrested in the backyard of a residence for allegedly breaking into the house and stealing a truck from the driveway.
Charges were filed by the Washington Count Attorney’s Office Thursday against 38-year-0ld Mandy Lynn, of St. George, including two second-degree felony charges for burglary of a dwelling and theft. She was also charged with two third-degree felony drug offenses and misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia.
The charges stem from an incident Wednesday when officers were dispatched to a residence in St. George on a report of a residential burglary. A 911 call reported that two individuals allegedly entered the residence while the homeowners were away on vacation.
Officers arrived on scene to find a woman, later identified as Lynn, who was being detained in the backyard of the residence. Police spoke to the homeowner’s family members who said that two suspects had been inside the residence. They said one of the perpetrators was Lynn, who had been to the residence before, but was not permitted to return to the property, according to charging documents filed with the court.
Police also learned that a pickup truck that was normally parked in the driveway was missing. Officers also noted that the back door to the residence was damaged and appeared to have been broken into.
According to police, the suspect admitted to entering the residence through the back door but denied causing any damage. She also said she went into the home to collect some of her things that were loaded into bags, and that officers showed up just as she was about to leave. She also denied taking the pickup truck.
The suspect’s statements came into question when officers obtained images captured from surveillance footage showing a woman pulling out of the driveway in the pickup truck and driving off. The responding officer noted that the woman, “looked similar to Mandy by her hairstyle.”
Later, while speaking to detectives, Lynn said she entered the residence and allegedly admitted to taking the pickup truck without the knowledge or permission of the owners, according to the report.
She also told police that she left the pickup parked behind K-Mart on Bluff Street, which is where officers recovered it shortly thereafter. The suspect was arrested and transported to jail. No further details were made available involving the second suspect reportedly involved in the incident.
This is not the suspect’s first run-in with law enforcement.
In July, Lynn was arrested in Washington City after police allegedly found her inside of a storage unit that did not belong to her.
According to charging documents, officers were dispatched to the storage facility July 7, after a bystander phoned police dispatch reporting they heard someone shuffling around in one of the units. They told police they believed that someone may have broken into the unit by climbing through a small space between the interior wall and the ceiling.
Responding officers found the door to the unit cracked open enough for them to see the feet of someone moving around inside. They opened the storage unit door and found a woman, later identified as Lynn, who was arrested and transported to jail.
She was charged with third-degree felony burglary and misdemeanor drug charges that she later pleaded guilty to on Sept. 7 and she was placed on probation for 36 months. She was also ordered to be transported to a residential substance abuse program directly from jail. Two days later, she left the treatment center and the Washington County Attorney’s Office was notified.
In November, she was arrested by police officers in St. George and charged with felony drug possession, a case that is still pending with the courts. She also faces probation violations for allegedly committing new crimes, court records indicate.
Lynn remains in custody on $20,000 bail and is scheduled to make an initial appearance in 5th District Court Friday.
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