Juvenile among 3 arrested for allegedly vandalizing 15 Latter-day Saint churches across Washington County

ST. GEORGE — Three suspects have been arrested, including a juvenile, in connection with the string of incidents that left 15 chapels in three cities damaged during what appears to be a serial spree that took place over the course of two nights last week.

Damage to a window seen at a church belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, St. George, Utah, July 20, 2022 | Photo courtesy of St. George Police, St. George News

The suspects include Nathan David Monroy, 18, and Zachary Martin Steele, also 18, both residents of Washington City, while the identity of a third suspect was withheld since he is a juvenile, according to a statement released by the St. George Police Department.

Monroy was arrested Sunday and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility on a second-degree felony count of criminal mischief, while Steele was arrested Monday by officers in Washington City and was booked into jail facing the same charge. The juvenile also was arrested and transported to the Dixie Area Detention Center.

In all, 15 chapels belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in St. George, Washington City and Hurricane were vandalized in the early-morning hours of July 20-21.

Damages are estimated to be in excess of $5,000 between the buildings, the statement said.

Officers were dispatched to the LDS chapel located on East Desert Canyons Parkway in St. George shortly after midnight on a report of vandalism. Officers arrived to find that one of the chapel windows was damaged.

Law enforcement also learned that the previous night, a broken window was also reported at an LDS chapel in Washington City.

It was then that officers in surrounding areas began a canvass of their respective cities to determine if any other churches had sustained similar damage, which is when they found that more than a dozen additional LDS chapels had been vandalized over the 2-night spree starting on July 19, according to charging documents filed with the court.

On Sunday, investigators received information from a witness who said they saw a vehicle they described as a gray or silver passenger car that had a rear spoiler and damage to the driver’s side of the car.

The witnesses also reported seeing at least one male occupant with curly hair in the vehicle.

Meanwhile, officers in Washington City began to check local churches and found another window broken at the chapel on Arlington and Great Falls drives.

Officers determined the same suspects were involved in each incident after obtaining multiple witness statements that described the same silver vehicle with a noticeable spoiler on the rear of the car. A number of witnesses also described one of the suspects as having curly hair.

Officers obtained evidence and messages posted on social media that were directly related to the crimes, and the report also states that investigators received information identifying the individuals responsible.

Damage to a window seen at a church belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Washington City, Utah, July 19, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Washington City Police, St. George News

Photos posted on social media showed a vehicle matching the car described by the witnesses that was reportedly owned by the juvenile authorities allege provided the hammer used to break the windows.

Further, Steele reportedly posted a message admitting it was the juvenile who was the driver during the incidents, while Monroy “did most of the damage to the churches using a hammer,” the officer noted in the report.

Investigators also obtained messages posted by the suspects allegedly bragging about the article published in St. George News that did not contain “specific enough information to identify them,” according to the report, since little information was known at the time the incidents were reported.

Monroy also allegedly posted that the hammer used to damage the windows was taken from a discount store.

Officers also spoke to the suspects, and during an interview with Monroy on Sunday, the suspect initially denied any involvement in the incidents, but once officers presented a few of their findings from the investigation, the suspect “admitted that he had broken the windows of the churches over the course of two consecutive nights,” the officer wrote.

In all, 15 chapels were damaged, nine of which were in St. George, while Washington City Police Chief Jason Williams told St. George News that two chapels were hit in Washington City. Hurricane Police Officer Dan Raddatz said a total of five windows were broken between the three chapels in Hurricane.

Following the arrests, both suspects were formally charged when the case was filed Tuesday, and Monroy has since been released from jail, while Steele remains in custody at the time of this report.

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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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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