Man in allegedly ‘borrowed’ car claiming to be going from one hospital to another ends up in jail instead

Composite image with background stock photo and overlay of Washington City Police vehicle taken in Washington City, Utah, May 11, 2021 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A man arrested by a Washington City Police officer during a traffic stop was later transported to jail for allegedly borrowing a car from the owner, a man who told police he didn’t know the suspect.

Map showing Crimson Way area where suspect was arrested, Washington City, Utah, Nov. 23, 2021 | Image courtesy of Google Maps, St. George News

On the evening of Nov. 20, an officer noticed a vehicle that failed to stop at a four-way intersection. The officer activated his emergency lights to stop the car on Crimson Way in Washington City.

The affidavit filed with the court states that while speaking to police, the driver, later identified as 38-year-old James Adrian Horton of St. George, told the officer he had just left the hospital and had borrowed the vehicle he was driving to go to a second hospital.

The report states that when asked, Horton said he did not have permission to be driving the vehicle and said he found it in a parking lot with the keys inside, so he was “just borrowing it.” He reportedly said he was planning on leaving it in a parking lot so the owner could find it later but that he did not know who owned the car.

Authorities located the registered owner of the car, who said he did not give anyone permission to be driving the car, and when he responded to the scene of the traffic stop a short time later, he also told the officer he had no idea who Horton was.

Horton was arrested and booked into jail shortly after 9:30 p.m. and was charged with second-degree possession of a stolen vehicle.

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.

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