ST. GEORGE — A suspect is facing a felony child abuse charge following an arrest during a traffic stop on Red Hills Parkway for several outstanding warrants, one of which was filed in connection with another child abuse case.
An officer in Washington City was patrolling the area of Red Hills Parkway shortly before 8:30 a.m. Monday in search of a wanted individual when they noticed a vehicle driven by a woman who also was wanted by police, according to charging documents filed with the courts.
The driver was known to law enforcement and identified as 40-year-old Angela Kai Davis of St. George.
Washington City Police Chief Jason Williams told St. George News the officer recognized the driver, who was wanted on several outstanding warrants, one of which was filed in connection with a child abuse case filed last year.
The suspect’s vehicle initially was spotted in Washington City but was stopped near the 1800 block of Red Hills Parkway in St. George. Davis was placed under arrest for three active warrants.
While being handcuffed, Davis reportedly told police that her children “were left alone at home” and asked if she could call her mother to check on them. When the officer called the relative, however, they were unable to reach her, and when the second contact provided by Davis was called, they reportedly refused to go to the suspect’s residence to care for the children.
Davis was placed in the patrol vehicle and her vehicle was impounded. She had no valid driver’s license and the vehicle she was driving had no interlock device installed, which was a requirement of the court.
While Davis was being transported to jail on the outstanding warrants, the arresting officer contacted a detective and another officer to check on her children.
Shortly thereafter, the detectives told the arresting officer they were at the suspect’s apartment on East Middleton Drive in St. George, where they reportedly found Davis’ two children, ages 1 and 3, alone inside the unit. They also found the toddler wearing a heavily soiled diaper, and on the counter, they located several opened beer cans within reach of the 3-year-old.
Officers also found that the garage door to the home was open and appeared to be broken, while the door leading into the home was left unlocked. Officers successfully reached the children’s father who arrived at the apartment a short while later to pick up the children. The officer also reported the incident to the Division of Child and Family Services for follow-up.
Williams said during the traffic stop, the suspect told officers she was “warming her car up,” he said, adding the suspect’s residence was on East Middleton, while the stop took place on East Red Hills Parkway, nearly a half a mile away.
During a search of Davis’ car prior to it being impounded, police reportedly found a glass pipe with suspected methamphetamine.
Davis was booked into jail facing one count of aggravated child abuse negligent and drug paraphernalia charges, as well as an interlock charge. She was also booked on the three outstanding warrants.
The charges were submitted to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review. On Tuesday, the misdemeanor child abuse charge was enhanced to a third-degree felony charge of reckless or intentional abuse or neglect of a disabled child. All other charges remained the same.
The warrant referred to by Williams on the child abuse case was issued in connection with an incident that took place on Sept. 15, 2021, when officers were dispatched to the residence for a reported family fight.
Officers arrived and while speaking to the parties were provided a video depicting the altercation that took place inside the home between Davis and her husband. The video reportedly did not support Davis’s account of the incident as it unfolded. She later was arrested and initially booked into jail for misdemeanor assault and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child.
Prior to the arrest, officers confronted Davis about the video, but when they did so, the report states that Davis allegedly mistook the video officers were referring to with an earlier video taken of her spanking her 3-year-old son, according to charging documents filed in the case.
Officers then retrieved the video captured earlier that depicted the suspect reportedly spanking the toddler using a sandal with a stiff sole. The officer also noted the sound of “loud whipping sounds” that continued as the alleged spanking transpired.
According to the report, the spanking ended when the suspect reportedly shoved the child into the couch and was seen “winding up to slam the sandal back down on his behind while her child was screaming,” the officer wrote in the report.
Following the arrest, the officer submitted a separate probable cause statement detailing the incident involving the child to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review. On Oct. 12, 2021, Davis was formally charged with one count of child abuse involving physical injury, a class A misdemeanor.
The suspect made an initial appearance on the case, and it wasn’t until she failed to appear for a preliminary hearing in December that a warrant was issued for her arrest. The warrant was recalled after the suspect was booked into jail on Monday.
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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