Suspect arrested in stolen car allegedly tells police friend gave it to him for free

Stock image | St. George News

ST. GEORGE — An Ivins man is in jail after officers allegedly found him with a stolen car and firearm during a late-night traffic stop in Santa Clara Monday.

On Monday morning, a patrol officer in Santa Clara stopped a vehicle near the corner of Gubler Drive and Rim View after running the license plate through dispatch and confirming it was reported as stolen.

While speaking with the driver, later identified as 24-year-old Trevor Moss of Ivins, the officer called for backup.

When confronted about the car being listed as stolen, Moss allegedly told the officer he got the vehicle from a friend who allegedly “picked up this abandoned vehicle for free,” the officer noted in the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.

Santa Clara Ivins Police Sgt. Reed Briggs told St. George News the report was filed with the St. George Police Department but the vehicle’s owner lives in Enterprise.

Trevor Jon Moss, 24, of Ivins, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, Oct. 19, 2020 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Once additional officers arrived, all three occupants were ordered out of the car while a K-9 conducted an exterior sniff around the vehicle. The animal allegedly indicated to the presence of narcotics.

During a search of the car, officers found a lockbox on the floorboard under the driver’s seat and unlocked it using a key found on the key ring still in the ignition. Inside the box, officers recovered a loaded Ruger handgun. A check of the serial number revealed the gun was reported as stolen out of Sandy, Briggs said.

A background check on Moss revealed he was a convicted felon and restricted from owning or carrying a firearm, the officer noted in the report. As the search of the car continued, officers found a blue eyeglass case under the passenger’s seat that contained a small baggie with a white powdery substance inside that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, along with another clear bag containing a black tar substance consistent with heroin.

Moss was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility facing two second-degree felony charges, including one count of receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle and theft, a charge related to the stolen gun. He also faces third-degree felony possession of a firearm by a restricted person and two counts of possession of a controlled substance, as well as a misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia charge.

Moss remains in custody on $39,990 bail.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other 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.

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

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