CEDAR CITY — A man who led police on a stolen vehicle chase that ended in a Cedar City parking lot last January has been sentenced to prison.
Steffan Rees Nunley, 29, was sentenced on Monday by 5th District Judge Matthew L. Bell.
Nunley appeared via videoconference from Iron County Jail, where he has been held since his arrest in Cedar City on Jan. 26, 2021.
As part of a plea agreement, Nunley had entered guilty pleas on Nov. 8 to four charges in connection with the Cedar City case: one count of transferring or receiving a stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony; one count of failure to stop at the command of police, a third-degree felony; and misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment and possession of a controlled substance.
At the sentencing hearing, Nunley’s defense attorney Jeffery Slack acknowledged his client’s recent similar cases in other counties and asked the court to allow the sentences to run concurrently with the others.
As previously reported in St. George News, Nunley was arrested in December 2020 by a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy following an incident involving a stolen Jeep Cherokee in Leeds.
Nunley was sentenced in that case in March in St. George by 5th District Judge G. Michael Westfall, who imposed a term of up to five years in prison on a stolen vehicle charge, plus six months in jail for a theft charge, with those two sentences to run concurrently.
Additionally, Nunley still has a pending case out of Salt Lake County that stems from his arrest in Sandy on Jan. 7, 2021 after he was allegedly found by police to be in possession of a stolen vehicle, burglary tools and drugs. His next scheduled court date in that case is a pretrial conference on Jan. 6 before 3rd District Judge L. Douglas Hogan.
Utah court records indicate Nunley has a lengthy criminal history involving similar charges dating back nearly a decade, with most of them taking place in Salt Lake County.
As he addressed the court on Monday, Nunley said that he expected to be sent to prison but asked the judge for leniency by allowing the sentences to run concurrently.
“I do have two kids,” Nunley told the court. “Like I said, I think a prison sentence is what should happen, and I expect nothing less. However, I don’t believe that my two newborn children should not have their dad around during their first day of school. I think a lengthy prison imprisonment sentence would be reasonable. Again, I’m just asking for concurrent sentencing so that I can have the chance of being a father with my kids.”
However, Deputy Iron County Attorney Trajan Evans then argued that at least one of Nunley’s sentences should run concurrently with the others, citing his pattern of criminal behavior.
“He was speeding down Main Street in excess of 100 miles per hour. He was swerving in and out of traffic. Eventually, he was apprehended after fleeing on foot,” Evans said, recounting details of the Jan. 26 chase.
“He’s been convicted of 15 felonies and 11 misdemeanors in 18 total cases,” Evans added. “The state thinks it’s interesting that in each one of those cases, he was convicted of either theft, fraud, burglary or fleeing. It’s exactly what he’s in front of your honor for, on those charges today.”
“He’s avoided any type of prison sentence to this point in those cases, so the state argues the message hasn’t reached Mr. Nunley,” Evans added.
Before pronouncing the sentence, the judge addressed Nunley’s request for leniency.
“Part of your basis for asking that the court offer at least a little bit of leniency and run this concurrently, is the impact on your kids,” Bell told Nunley. “One of the things that concerns me is (that) your behavior in this case could have easily left someone else, their children, without a parent, because what you did was reckless and dangerous and could have easily killed someone. And that’s troubling to me.”
Bell also noted that Nunley was on probation at the time of the offense.
“As I look over your history, you’re a career criminal,” Bell added. “And you’ve shown that you have really no regard to court orders, let alone the safety and rights of other people. And that’s very concerning to me. The facts of this case are troubling. You present a major risk to the community’s safety.”
Bell then sentenced Nunley to serve 1-15 years in the Utah State Prison on the stolen vehicle count, a second degree felony, in addition to 0-5 years in prison for the failure to stop for police, a third-degree felony, and 364 days in jail for each of the two misdemeanors. The sentence on the first count is to run consecutively after the other three, which are to run concurrently with each other, the judge ordered.
Additionally, Bell said, “I’m going to add that the sentence in this case is to run consecutive to any other sentence imposed in any other case.”
After Nunley’s pending Salt Lake County case is adjudicated, any sentence he might receive there would factor into the total length of time he’ll end up spending in prison, with the ultimate determination to be made by the state Board of Pardons.
Judge Bell waived any fines or fees but said that Nunley would be responsible for paying a certain amount of restitution, with the final amount to be left open for a period of time to allow for any additional claims to be filed.
After Monday’s sentencing, Iron County Attorney Chad Dotson told Cedar City News that Nunley’s repetitive criminal behavior had placed members of the public and law enforcement officers in harm’s way.
“Nunley has been given multiple opportunities through the criminal justice system to get treatment and rehabilitation,” Dotson said. “He chose instead to commit new crimes.”
“During the time he serves consecutive prison terms, he will be unable to victimize our community,” Dotson added.
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