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ST. GEORGE — The Santa Clara-Ivins Police Department arrested a man Sunday suspected in a string of burglaries that took place at several mailbox clusters in the Ivins area recently.
At the beginning of April, Santa Clara-Ivins Police Sgt. Reed Briggs told St. George News that the department had received reports that some of the mailboxes in certain clusters had been pried open.
Briggs said about five mailbox clusters around Ivins were broken into over the course of a weekend.
Officers suspected that the perpetrator had a vehicle because of the more remote location of some of the clusters, Briggs said, adding that some of the mailboxes were located off Highway 91 and near the Kayenta neighborhood.
At approximately 5 a.m. Sunday, officers located a speeding driver near Taviak Drive in Kayenta. During the course of pulling over and interviewing the driver, later identified as Anthony V. Green of St. George, officers could smell the odor of marijuana, and they also noticed some screwdrivers and other tools that could be used for prying in the vehicle’s center console, Briggs said.
Because of the tools, some of which were bent, officers suspected the driver might be connected to the mailbox burglaries.
Green is on probation, Briggs said, so the department was able to make contact with his probation officer and meet the officer at Green’s residence, where they allegedly saw a piece of mail from one of the addresses that had originally reported the mail theft.
A search warrant was obtained, and officers were able to find additional mail, including some personal tax information belonging to one of the residents whose mail had been taken.
Though officers initially noticed the odor of marijuana, Briggs said they did not find any marijuana, and the suspect was not booked on drug charges.
“We weren’t able to find anything. Some of those issues will be dealt with through his probation officer,” Briggs said.
Green may be connected with additional mailbox thefts in St. George and the Diamond Valley neighborhood off state Route 18, Briggs said.
Since the time of the incident, Briggs said that many of the mailbox clusters, which were older, have been upgraded with additional security measures.
Green was booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility on Sunday and charged with a third-degree felony of causing damage to mailboxes and class A misdemeanors for theft of mail valued under $1,000 and possession of someone’s personal identification.
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