ST. GEORGE — A man was arrested Friday after reportedly breaking into a business, demanding $11,000 and threatening employees with a gun.
After receiving a call about an incident that occurred Friday at a construction company on East Riverside Drive, police were dispatched to the scene. According to charging documents filed with the court, the reporting party told police a man from a sub-contracting company, identified as 24-year-old Jovany Romero, entered the business shortly after 11:30 a.m., and demanded to be paid approximately $11,000.
At that point, one of the employees told Romero there was a problem with a number of the invoices and they needed to discuss those issues first, which is when Romero became angry and started yelling and demanded his money “now,” according to the report.
The suspect walked toward the front door but just before leaving reportedly told the employees he was going to get a gun and then walked out. As soon as the suspect left, the employees locked the front door.
Shortly thereafter, the suspect returned and pulled on the door with enough force to “defeat the lock,” the officer noted. Romero then entered the building where he confronted the employees “in an aggressive manner” and again demanded $11,000. As he did so, officers say the suspect kept his hand in the waistband of his pants, as if he was concealing a firearm, actions that caused the employees to believe they were in danger.
The suspect then left the building and then approached the exterior window of the shop where he reportedly held up a “small handgun-style firearm,” in view of the employees and then used the gun to bang on the window.
Romero continued striking the window with the gun as he threatened to shoot the employees and their vehicles, the report adds.
Authorities say they made contact with Romero over the phone and arranged to meet him at the Police Department for an interview. During the phone call, the suspect repeatedly told the officer he “was not going to jail tonight.”
After which, the suspect pulled his pickup into the Police Department parking lot and stopped just as officers were approaching. Police say he then put the truck in drive, which made it appear that he was attempting to “make a quick getaway.” He was also moving around inside the truck, which increased suspicion.
Police ordered the suspect to exit the truck and he was taken into custody.
With the suspect detained, officers searched the pickup and recovered two firearms, including one that matched witnesses’ descriptions of the weapon allegedly used to threaten the employees, which turned out to be a semi-automatic handgun with a loaded magazine.
The second gun found in the center console was a loaded silver revolver with the hammer pulled back in a locked position.
While speaking to officers, the suspect said he was invoking his 2nd amendment right “not to go to jail” and told police he “should have used his guns on law enforcement,” the report states. Police say Romero said there was an upcoming war against police, which made them concerned for the safety of the public, as well the safety of themselves.
As soon as the suspect invoked his Miranda rights he was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked into jail facing first-degree felony burglary. He also faces four third-degree felony charges, including three counts of aggravated assault, as well as one count each of theft and criminal mischief.
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.
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