CEDAR CITY — Although Cedar City Police have arrested two men believed to be responsible for a recent rash of vehicle burglaries, they say they are still looking for additional suspects.
Colton David Richmond, 25, and Kim Michael Potter-Hatch, 35, were booked into Iron County Jail earlier this week after being apprehended by police following separate pursuits.
“For the past couple of months, Cedar City has been getting hit hard with vehicle burglaries around town,” states the probable cause statement filed in support of Potter-Hatch’s arrest.
The arresting officer outlines in the document the multiple crimes for which Potter-Hatch is believed to be responsible.
Cedar City Police Sgt. Justin Ludlow told Cedar City News on Friday morning that investigators are gathering evidence and additional arrests may be forthcoming in connection with the various vehicle burglary cases.
“We don’t know exactly how many more people we are looking for, but we are looking for more,” he said.
According to the affidavit, officers on Tuesday evening engaged in a foot pursuit in Cedar City with a male suspected of breaking into vehicles.
“The next day, officers received enough evidence to identify Kim Potter-Hatch as the suspect,” the arresting officer wrote. Police located Potter-Hatch at a residence in Enoch and took him into custody.
During Tuesday night’s pursuit, Potter-Hatch allegedly entered several backyards while hiding from officers, according to the affidavit.
“He admitted to entering a vehicle to stay warm and think about what to do next,” the statement said. “He then entered an enclosed garage where he removed tools and was hiding from officers.”
Potter-Hatch reportedly also admitted to breaking into “at least 10” different vehicles each night for each of three successive nights leading up to his arrest.
Police also allegedly found in Potter-Hatch’s possession a firearm and a stolen credit card, along with the key fobs to multiple vehicles that had been reported stolen.
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of Richmond’s arrest, officers responded to a call reporting a suspect napping in a car in the Fiddler’s Canyon area around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Officers arrived to find the vehicle unoccupied, but an eyewitness later notified police that the man had been seen climbing out the back window of a nearby residence.
“As I rounded the corner I saw a male in a black jacket and blue pants running west toward Fiddler’s Canyon Road,” the arresting officer wrote, adding that the man didn’t heed commands to stop as officers chased him on foot.
The incident, which happened just as school was letting out at nearby Fiddler’s Canyon Elementary, caused a brief Level 1 lockdown at that school. As previously reported, it marked the third lockdown of the day at an Iron County School District school.
Richmond was apprehended and taken into custody a short time later. Arresting officers reportedly seized a cell phone, syringes containing heroin, a plastic container of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, burglary tools and keys to multiple vehicles that had allegedly been stolen.
According to the charging documents, Richmond faces four felony counts of receiving or possessing a stolen vehicle, one felony drug possession charge, plus several misdemeanor counts, including obstructing justice, theft by receiving stolen property, possession of burglary tools and possession of drugs and paraphernalia.
Meanwhile, Potter-Hatch faces multiple felony counts related to theft, burglary, attempted theft, unlawful use of a financial card and possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person. He also faces misdemeanor counts of vehicle burglary and criminal trespassing.
According to their affidavits, both men are on probation for prior felony convictions. Richmond’s charging document alleges that he cut off his ankle monitor in order to evade Adult Probation and Parole. Both men continue to be held without bail at Iron County Jail as of Friday afternoon.
This report is based on information provided by court documents and law enforcement officials 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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