‘Finish your time, get some treatment’: Cedar City man sentenced on assault, theft, burglary charges

Composite image. Booking photo of Alex Foreman, 26, Iron County Jail, Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 24, 2020 | Photo courtesy of Iron County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — A Cedar City man who pleaded guilty to assault, vehicle burglary and unlawful use of a financial transaction card has been sentenced to 240 days in jail.

Alex Foreman, 26, was sentenced Monday in 5th District Court by Judge Matthew L. Bell, who also ordered Foreman to three years of probation.

As previously reported in Cedar City News, Foreman was one of two men arrested following several reported thefts from vehicles in Cedar City in November. He was originally charged with 10 counts of vehicle burglary, but eight of the charges were dropped in exchange for his guilty pleas on two of those misdemeanor counts in addition to the original third-degree felony charge of unlawful use of a financial card.

On Nov. 28, just a few days after his arrest for the vehicle burglaries, Foreman was again arrested after leaving the scene of a domestic disturbance in a neighborhood in the northern part of Cedar City. According to a probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, police tried to detain Foreman as he walked away on a nearby trail, but he resisted arrest and ended up kicking an officer in the chest.

Foreman reportedly had “a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath and person,” the report states, adding that he also kicked a doctor after being taken to the hospital emergency room later that night.

That incident resulted in additional charges for Foreman, two of which he pleaded guilty to and was also sentenced for on Monday: assault by a prisoner, a third-degree felony; and assault against a police officer, a class A misdemeanor.

“I do feel remorse, and that comes from the heart,” Foreman said during Monday’s court hearing, which was conducted via video link. In a handwritten note he previously submitted to the judge, Foreman had asked for “house arrest or minimum time” and had also indicated that he suffers from chronic pain due to neurofibromatosis.

Screenshot of Alex Foreman at Iron County Jail during video sentencing hearing, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 1, 2021 | Image courtesy of 5th District Court, St. George News / Cedar City News

However, prosecutors argued that Foreman’s pattern of criminal behavior warranted jail time, particularly the resisting arrest incident.

“Mr. Foreman victimized numerous citizens and placed our community at risk,” Iron County Attorney Chad Dotson told Cedar City News after the hearing. “We take crimes against our law enforcement and healthcare workers seriously. Deputy Attorney Trajan Evans made the argument that the sentencing matrix recommendations of 120 days was inadequate. He argued that the jail time should be doubled, and the court agreed.”

The judge told Foreman during the sentencing that he shared some of the concerns set forth by Evans, specifically “the fact that you got out of custody and find yourself right back in.”

“It really bothers me when folks are victimized,” Bell added. “I have the ability to order restitution, but I don’t always have a lot of confidence that it’s going to be paid, and if it is, (that it will be) paid in a timely fashion. And that’s unfortunate when people’s lives are impacted and you’re not thinking twice about what it does to them.”

Bell gave Foreman credit for the time served since his incarceration in Iron County Jail in late November and ordered him to pay $754.93 in restitution, with the possibility of that amount becoming higher if additional claims are filed by victims.

“I’m going to leave it open for 180 days,” Bell said of the restitution. “That should be long enough to determine if there’s additional claims to be made.”

The court also ordered Foreman to undergo a substance abuse treatment program and receive mental health counseling.

“Mr. Foreman, please don’t come back victimizing others,” Bell added as he finished the sentencing. “Finish your time, get some treatment, follow through with recommended treatment and hopefully stay out of trouble. I hope you’ll impress me and surprise me by making a sincere effort to make the victims whole in restitution.”

Dotson said his office will “continue to hold (Foreman) accountable while on probation to ensure he makes the victims whole.”

In a separate matter, Foreman also has a pending DUI case stemming from an incident in July when his car was found wrecked along state Route 56, but he was not with the vehicle, having allegedly left the scene of the crash. That case has yet to be adjudicated in Iron County Justice Court.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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