Homeowner finds burglar inside residence in Ivins, suspect charged

Stock image of Santa Clara-Ivins Police patrol vehicle | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A suspect well-known to police is in jail facing felony burglary and other charges after he allegedly entered a home and was found in the master bedroom by officers, who had to taser the man to remove him from the residence.

Stock photo of Santa Clara-Ivins Police patrol vehicle | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Last Sunday, officers were dispatched to a home in Ivins on a residential burglary in progress and arrived to find that a suspect had entered the home and was refusing to leave shortly after 7 p.m., according to charging documents filed with the court.

Officers arrived and spoke to the homeowner, who said the suspect was still inside of the residence.

Santa Clara-Ivins Police Sgt. Reed Briggs told St. George News the suspect entered the residence through the front door that was left open when the homeowner took his dog outside and was near the yard when the incident took place.

It was when the reporting party went back into the home that he noticed a person, who the police identified as 29-year-old George Herbert Lewis Serrano, walking out of the bedroom carrying a bag. The homeowner asked for the bag back and told the burglar to leave the residence, a request the suspect allegedly refused to comply with.

At some point, Briggs said, the homeowner attempted to physically remove the suspect from the home, and it was when those efforts were unsuccessful that he called 911 for help.

Officers entered the home and said they found Serrano in the master bedroom, but when they attempted to place him under arrest, the report states the man allegedly refused to comply with the officer’s commands. An officer also noticed that Serrano was reportedly holding a metal object that had a sharpened end in his hand as he did so.

“The officers weren’t sure if that was a knife or some other object,” Briggs said. “But either way, it looked as though it could hurt someone.”

As the struggle ensued, Briggs said, officers deployed a taser to stop the suspect from fighting, efforts that had little effect to subdue that man.

The situation was made worse by the confined space where the tussle was taking place, allowing only enough room for one of the officers to attempt to subdue the suspect.

It was only after the third deployment of the taser that officers were able to take the suspect into custody and Serrano was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility without further incident. He was booked on multiple offenses as well as five active warrants for his arrest.

Stock image. | St. George News / Cedar City News

The following day, the suspect was charged with second-degree felony burglary of a dwelling as well as several misdemeanor charges, including one count each of assault on a peace officer, interfering with an arresting officer and theft.

Briggs also said that Serrano was well known to officers and they have been many run-ins with the suspect, including incidents that involved resisting arrest and assault on a police officer.

One such incident was reported in 2019 when officers were called out to the Three Amigos Market on Bluff Street in St. George on a report that a suspect, later identified as Serrano, was allegedly trying to break into the store using a plastic card similar to a credit card.

Court records also indicate when the officers responded, the suspect fled and when they caught up with him there was a scuffle that resulted in one of the officer’s body cameras being damaged. He was later arrested on multiple charges and transported to jail.

One of the warrants Serrano was arrested for on May 2 was issued in that case that is still pending with the courts.

Following his arrest last weekend, Serrano made an initial appearance in court on Thursday and is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on May 20. He remains in custody without bail.

Ed. Note: A new Utah law generally prohibits the release of arrest booking photos until after a conviction is obtained. 

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.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!