Police arrest Iowa man following late-night break-in at St. George cemetery

Composite image with background photo by Ofc Picture/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — An Iowa man appeared in court Wednesday following an arrest over the previous weekend when officers found the suspect near the maintenance building of the cemetery on Tabernacle Street clad in rubber gloves.

Ammon Wayne Barlow, 21, of Moulton, Iowa, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, June 28, 2020 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Shortly after 10:30 p.m. on June 28, officers were dispatched to a report of a burglary in progress at the St. George City Cemetery on Tabernacle. The 911 caller reported that a man was seen attempting to break into an outbuilding on the property, according to charging documents filed in 5th District Court.  

Officers arrived to find that the outbuilding appeared to be a maintenance shed in the middle of the property surrounded by a fence secured with a lock. Inside the building, there was an office, bathroom and a storage room. 

Officers cut the lock and entered the fenced-in area where they found the suspect, noting he was wearing rubber gloves when officers approached. The man told police he gained access to the yard by crawling under the gap in the fence. 

He also said he “was in the shed just seeing what was in there,” explaining that he was homeless and looking for a place to stay, the officer noted in the report. 

The man also told officers that he reached into the window of the office and took a cell phone charger so that he could charge his phone, a statement allegedly supported by the fact that officers located a cell phone charging in the adjacent bathroom. 

The suspect, later identified as 21-year-old Ammon Barlow,of Moulton, Iowa, was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility. 

On Monday, charges were filed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office that include one third-degree felony count of burglary and a misdemeanor theft charge. 

An initial appearance was scheduled to take place in 5th District Court Wednesday and the suspect remains in custody on $5,930 bail. 

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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