Traffic stop nets 2 felony warrant arrests for officers in Washington City

Stock image by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Officers in Washington City arrested a local man wanted on multiple felony warrants issued out of 5th District Court in connection with cases involving forgery, drugs and counterfeit bills passed throughout Washington County. Additionally, a passenger in the vehicle also had felony warrants.

Colten Holm, 29, of St. George, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, Jan. 28, 2021 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

On Jan. 28, an officer patrolling near Mall Drive noticed a car drifting between the center lane and the emergency shoulder of the road and stopped the car near Smiths Marketplace.

The driver apologized for not maintaining his lane of travel, telling the officer he was speaking to the other passengers inside of the car when the car drifted out of its lane.

When asked for his driver’s license, the man told the officer he had forgotten his wallet but identified himself as 29-year-old Colten Holm. He went on to explain that “it was likely” he had several felony warrants for his arrest, the report filed in support of the arrest states, adding that Holm said he had planned on taking care of them as soon as possible.

Additional units were called in when a records check revealed the suspect did in fact have several felony warrants for his arrest and that his license was suspended.

One of the warrants involved a counterfeit bill incident reported April 6, 2020, at a grocery store in Apple Valley.

The store employee told officers that a suspect had entered the store and attempted to use a counterfeit $100 bill to pay for his purchases and provided officers with the license plate number he took down as the vehicle was leaving the parking lot. Officers were advised of a similar incident also reported in Apple Valley involving a suspect identified as Holm who had allegedly passed four counterfeit $100 bills at a number of convenience stores in the area.

During questioning, Holm admitted to passing one of the counterfeit $100 bills at a business in LaVerkin. He was subsequently booked into jail on second-degree felony possession of a controlled substance charge, along with five third-degree felony charges, including two counts of forgery, two counts of possession of a forgery device.

Following the arrest, Holm was placed on probation and sent to a substance abuse treatment center. On Dec. 23, a warrant was issued for his arrest for a probation violation.

During Thursday’s incident in Washington City, a K-9 unit was deployed to conduct a sniff around the exterior of the car,  and the animal indicated to the possible presence of narcotics.

When asked, Holm told officers there was nothing illegal in the car that belonged to him or his fiancé who was riding in the front passenger’s seat. However, officers recovered a syringe cap and a wooden pipe located in the center console of the car in addition to other paraphernalia recovered from the vehicle.

Jessica Hernandez, 28, of St. George, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, Jan. 28, 2021 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Additionally, officers discovered that the backseat passenger, identified as 28-year-old Jessica Hernandez, was also wanted on multiple warrants, including one issued on a case reported in July 2020 involving a business burglary in St. George. In that case, a white Audi SUV and a black Ford pickup truck were stolen, along with two motorcycles and a water trampoline valued at more than $1,500.

The pickup was equipped with a GPS tracking device, and officers were able to follow the truck’s path to an address in Littlefield, Arizona, where officers there responded and recovered the Audi. However, the pickup truck returned to St. George and was recovered at a motel by police the following day. Surveillance footage taken at a gas station showed a woman driving the Audi that was later identified as Hernandez.

Officers determined that she took part in the sale of the stolen items. She was later charged with three second-degree felony counts of theft and other charges, and a warrant was issued for her arrest Dec. 10, 2020.

Holm was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked on misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia charges, along with one count of driving on a suspended license.

Hernandez was also transported to jail on her outstanding warrants and remains in custody at the writing of this report.

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, 2021, all rights reserved.

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