Suspect arrested for allegedly exposing himself inside convenience store in Santa Clara

Stock image | St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A suspect was arrested Wednesday for lewdness after allegedly exposing himself to customers and employees inside of a convenience store in Santa Clara on two separate evenings.

Matthew Daniel Romero, 32, of Santa Clara, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, Feb. 3, 2021 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

On Jan. 28, officers were dispatched to the convenience store after an employee called 911 reporting that a man entered the store and exposed his genitals. Officers responded to the same store the following night on a similar call.

Following each of the incidents, the suspect drove away from the store in a Subaru. Employees were able to provide a description of the suspect. He was also captured on the store’s security video that was later recovered by authorities.

Santa Clara-Ivins Police Sgt. Reed Briggs told St. George News that while officers were following up at the store, patrol began canvassing the area in search of the suspect and the vehicle seen leaving the store, but despite their efforts, they were unable to locate either.

Briggs also said that even though they had video footage and images of the suspect, once the area searches for the suspect came up empty, authorities still had no idea who the man was.

It wasn’t until days later when an officer in Santa Clara was returning to the station and noticed a Subaru that matched the description of the vehicle seen pulling away from the store. A registration check revealed the vehicle was registered to a Santa Clara man, 32-year-old Matthew Romero, who also matched the physical description of the suspect captured by the store’s security cameras.

Briggs said on the same day the car was spotted, officers were asked to keep an eye out for the vehicle. It was only a few hours later, he said, that the Subaru was spotted driving along Santa Clara Drive, and from there everything fell into place. Romero was arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility for two misdemeanor lewdness offenses.

Following Wednesday’s arrest in Santa Clara, Romero’s criminal history revealed misdemeanor drug and assault cases, including a case filed in February 2020 alleging the suspect beat a woman severely. That case is still pending with the courts. Four years earlier the suspect was charged with felony assault following a similar incident. The suspect pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor assault charge in September 2016 and was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail and placed on probation.

The misdemeanor lewdness charges were submitted to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review following the arrest. Romero was released shortly after midnight on Thursday.

This is the third arrest involving lewdness offenses that have taken place since since Jan. 27, when David King was arrested after spending two days in the hospital for exposure. King was found lying naked in a field by a farmer in Washington City in the early morning hours of Jan. 27 and was transported to the hospital and then booked into jail.

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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