ST. GEORGE — An early morning welfare check at a St. George motel Friday ended in the arrest of a local woman after police allegedly found multiple ID and bank cards belonging to two Oregon residents in the suspect’s belongings.
Shortly after 6 a.m. a woman called 911 requesting police assistance and told emergency dispatchers that a woman was outside of a motel room stating that “her life was in jeopardy and she needed help,” according to charging documents filed in 5th District Court.
Officers arrived at the motel on St. George Boulevard where they found the woman, later identified as Tina Marie Kythakyapuzha, 42, of St. George, standing in front of one of the rooms.
Kythakyapuzha told police that a man staying inside the room was refusing to leave, adding that the man had also “paid her to stay in the room” with him.
Officers entered the room, and the man told them he believed Kythakyapuzha had taken his ID card and his social security card, allegations the suspect later denied when questioned by police. Kythakyapuzha consented to a search of her belongings.
During the search, officers found a large number of cards that were taped together. Once the stack was opened officers found that the cards belonged to a woman in Oregon, including a driver’s license and several school ID cards.
Officers also found a wallet that was wrapped in tissue paper located inside one of the bags on the bed, inside of which officers found an Oregon driver’s license and two bank cards belonging to a man.
Kythakyapuzha told police she did not know either of the people that the cards belonged to, explaining that the woman’s ID and other cards “had randomly appeared in her property almost a year” before, according to the report.
She went on to say the wallet had been given to her by a man named “Adam” who had been arrested in Oregon, adding that she only realized the cards did not belonged to him after his arrest, which she told police also happened about a year ago.
The suspect had no response when asked why she never turned the items over to police, the officer noted in the report.
Officers also found a large glass pipe with white residue inside one of the bags that was consistent with methamphetamine.
Officers were unable to find the social security card or driver’s license of the man staying in the room.
The suspect was transported and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility and three third-degree felony charges were filed in 5th District Court Monday, including two counts of unauthorized use of a financial card and one count of possession of another’s identifying documents. She was also charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia charges.
The suspect remains in custody on $5,000 bail.
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