Suspect arrested on 7 warrants, including felony burglary, in Washington City

Stock image | Photo by MattGush/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A local man is in jail following an arrest Wednesday by a Washington City Police Officer after a records check revealed seven active warrants issued in Washington County for his arrest.

Early Wednesday morning, a St. George man, 41-year-old Nicholas Nocchi, was arrested by a patrol officer in Washington City shortly after 3 a.m. for multiple warrants issued out of 5th District Court for five separate cases that are still pending in the courts.

Four of the warrants were issued Oct. 29 by District Judge John J. Walton, the first of which involves a burglary that was reported at the end of January involving two suspects that broke into a shed located behind a residence and took more than $500 worth of items and fled. Through the course of the investigation, officers obtained video footage that showed two vehicles back into the yard behind the home, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.

The officer recognized one of the vehicles, a Dodge pickup truck, that matched the vehicle driven by the suspect, who was known to police from previous contacts. One of the vehicles belonged to Nocchi, a Dodge pickup truck, back into the yard behind the home.

The officer recognized the truck as belonging to Nocchi and began scouring the area in search of the suspect who lived in the Dixie Downs area and was located by police the following day.

The officer spotted the suspect’s truck and stopped the vehicle on Sunset Boulevard Feb. 4. While speaking with the officer, Nocchi allegedly denied being aware of, or of having any involvement in, the incident. When the officer showed the suspect the footage of the pickup backing into the yard, he admitted the truck was his but said he wasn’t driving it, the officer wrote.

Nicholas Eugene Nocchi, 41, of St. George, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, Dec. 9, 2020 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Authorities were unable to locate any of the property that was reportedly missing during a search of the Dodge, which led police to suspect the property was in the possession of the second suspect involved.

Nocchi was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and charged with third-degree felony burglary and misdemeanor theft, charges that were filed the following day. The warrant was issued after he failed to appear in court.

Another warrant issued that same day involves a case that was filed in April that includes multiple misdemeanor charges that include one count of threatening or using a dangerous weapon in a fight and three counts of reckless endangerment.

The charges were filed following an incident reported on April 23 when the defendant allegedly entered a home at 4 a.m. wearing dark clothing and a bandana over his face and carrying a gun.

The suspect allegedly pointed the firearm into the room where the reporting party and two other people were sleeping and said “give me my money,” the officer noted in the report. Two of the individuals recognized the suspect’s voice as Nocchi’s.

The third warrant issued in October involves an incident where a resident’s tires were sliced. The vehicle was parked in the driveway of the residence and a witness stated they saw a man matching the suspect’s description get out of a passenger car and walk to the driver’s side of the vehicle with an object in their hand. And when the owner of the car went outside to check the tires, they noticed that both were going flat.

Through the course of the investigation, officers learned the incident may have involved retaliation against a witness in an unrelated crime.

The suspect was arrested on May 19 and charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief. The warrant was issued when he failed to appear for his hearing.

Nocchi remains in custody on $8,370 bail.

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

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