Suspect booked into jail for felony theft tells police he was ‘test driving’ E-bike

In this 2019 file photo a Santa Clara-Ivins Police patrol vehicle is stopped on Santa Clara Drive, Santa Clara, Utah, Sept. 1, 2019 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A man with an extensive criminal history is back in jail facing a felony theft charge after an electric bike went missing from a shop in Ivins.

A Santa Clara-Ivins Police cruiser in front of the original Ivins City Hall on Oct. 1, 2020 in Ivins City, Utah. | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

On Monday, officers were dispatched following a report of a retail theft in Ivins after a shop owner called authorities reporting that an e-bike had been stolen.

Officers arrived to speak to the shop owner and an employee who informed them that a man, identified as Ruben Holt, “intentionally” took the e-bike from the store without permission, according to charging documents filed with the court.

Santa Clara-Ivins Police Sgt. Reed Briggs told St. George News the e-bike was being worked on at the time. When the employee went into another room to grab something, the suspect reportedly took the bike and left the shop.

The employee followed the suspect to the gas station on Red Mountain Boulevard in Ivins. While the suspect was inside the convenience store, the employee grabbed the bike and returned it to the shop.

Shortly thereafter, police were called. When officers caught up with the suspect, Holt reportedly said he had no plans to steal the bike; he only was taking it for a test drive.

“You just can’t take an e-bike for a test drive without telling anyone,” Briggs said. “That’s a crime.”

Holt was arrested and booked into jail on second-degree felony retail theft.

During a background check, officers found Holt to have multiple convictions for theft and other offenses.

One such case was filed in 2021 after Holt was arrested on charges pertaining to an attempted burglary in Washington City. In this case, officers were dispatched to a home where a man was reportedly trying to get into an occupied residence.

During an interview, Holt told officers he was going for a walk and was heading to a nearby church, later adding that he “accidentally” jumped into the homeowner’s yard, before “accidentally” trying to turn the knob to the backdoor – adding he was “being dumb,” the report states.

Stock Photo by Spic/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

Holt went on to admit he did enter the resident’s home the previous day, but said he thought he was entering his own home because he was “spacing out.” He was later arrested and charged with two counts of criminal trespass of a dwelling, each a class A misdemeanor.

On Dec. 24, 2019, Holt was arrested after he failed to stop following a collision reported on Interstate 15 near mile marker 30 in Washington County. Officers later learned that the vehicle the suspect was driving had been reported as stolen the night before. He was later charged with transferring or receiving a stolen vehicle.

The case was closed in April of this year.

In September, 2019, Holt was arrested by police in Salt Lake City when a 911-call reported that a man was at one of the area parks threatening individuals with a long wooden stick, including one woman who was walking with her small child.

Holt was located by police shortly thereafter when he allegedly became violent in a restaurant after he was told he could not be served unless he was wearing shoes and a shirt. 

Following the arrest Monday, Holt remains in custody on $5,000 bail.

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, 2022, all rights reserved.

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