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IN THE
5TH DISTRICT COURT ST GEORGE
WASHINGTON COUNTY, STATE OF UTAH
Affidavit of Probable Cause
STATE OF UTAH
vs.
Arrestee
The arrestee above will be released automatically 24 hours from the time of arrest unless a magistrate signs an
order and such order is returned to the jail before that time. If the judge has refused to sign the order, the
arrestee will be released within a reasonable period of time not to exceed 24 hours.
On 2018-10-25, at 23:46, the defendant was arrested for the offense(s) of:
Gov
Offense Date Offense Description Statute Severity DV Bail
Code
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF:INTENTIONAL
3 2018-10-25 76-6-106(2)(C) UT F3 No 5000.00
DAMAGE,DEFACE,DESTROY PROPERTY
I believe there is probable cause to charge the defendant with these charges because:
On 10/25/2018 I was dispatched to a vehicle fire, located in the area of Hidden Valley Drive & Barcelona Drive,
in St. George, UT. It was reported that a Silver Hyundai passenger car parked in the street, was unoccupied
and was almost fully engulfed in flames, It was reported by several wintesses that a male described as an
older male, wearing a green jacket and carying a backpack and a female wearing a bright pink back pack. It
was reported that they were seen walking away from the vehicle. As I was responding to the scene. I passed a
male and female matching the similar to the descriptions given by witnesses.
I turned around and pulled my patrol vehicle behind them, as they continued walking Northbound on the
sidewalk. I activated my body worn camera and called out to them, asking if I could speak with them. They
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Affidavit of Probable Cause: DUNCAN, SAMUEL
both turned and came back towards me. I asked what they were doing in the area? They replied they were
going to walk to a gas station and try to hitchike or catch a ride. I asked their names? they both stated they did
not have any photo identification, but gave me the information I requested. The male, stated his name was
James Harris with a date of birth 10/03/1983 and social security number 494-90-9155. This information was
later found to be false, as self admitted by the suspect. He advised he wanted to come clean, and give me his
real name. He then stated that his real name was Samuel Lee Duncan, Date of birth 10/03/1983 and socail
security number 490-88-1170. Dispatch confirmed this information and provided descriptors, which matched
the individual in custody. The name of James Harris was located and proved to be a real individual.
The female arrestee in this incident, identified herself as Jennifer Smith, 09/17/1983. This infromation was ran
through St. George City Dispatch center and identity was confirmed by this information. While on scene, I was
advised that there were multiple witnesses to the male and female leaving the vehicle. A male witness
approached me and stated he watched the male and female walking away from the vehicle. He said this while
I was standing directly in front of the suspects, Jennifer Smith and Samuel Duncan. The witness was looking
right to them and identified them as the individuals he had seen near the vehicle.
I read both Jennifer Smith and Samuel Duncan their Miranda Rights, verbatim as read per my officer note
book. They both individually stated "yes", that they understood their rights and "yes" they would speak to me. I
then was advised that the vehicle in question, was confirmed via dispatch as a stolen vehicle, out of Missouri.
Statements: The following is a brief summary of statements provided. It is not intended to be a verbatim
account of everything that was said or discussed. Additional
information can be found in any documents and recordings associated with thiscase.
CONTACT WITH JENNIFER : Jennifer stated that she had only known Samuel for a few months. He picked
her up in the vehicle. She was suspicious of the fact that Samuel had a vehicle, as he normally did not. She
questioned him about it and he got angry with her, so she stopped. I asked her why she would question or
suspect anything. She stated because he normally does not have a vehicle. Jennifer had thought it might have
been stolen or something, but then he told her he to not worry because he had the keys. Jennifer knew or had
reason to believe the vehicle has been stolen or unlawfully taken.
An inventory of Jennifer's belongings was conducted prior to it being placed into evidence/storage. During that
inventory an eye glass case, containing used syringes with white crystal like substance known to me by my
training and experience to be suspected methamphetamine.
CONTACT WITH SAMUEL LEE DUNCAN: I spoke to Samuel and again confirmed that he was willing to
speak to me, which he was. I asked him to tell me what was going on today? He started out with a lie, stating
he was with Jennifer at her Mother inlaws house. (I knew this to be false after speaking with Jennifer). I told
him I knew that was not true and asked him to tell me about the vehicle, where and how he got it and how it
came to be on fire? He stated he borrowed it from a friend who got it from his friend's brother Ryan. I asked
him if he knew that it was stolen? In a round about way, Samuel advised he was suspicious of the fact,
because it was just given to him. He stated it started to have mechanical trouble and he did not want to get in
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Affidavit of Probable Cause: DUNCAN, SAMUEL
trouble for having the car, believing it may be stolen. He stated it was all his doing. He told Jennifer to get her
belongings and to start walking, to not look back. He then said he grabed a gas can with gas, he had in the
car. Poured it all overthe car and lit it on fire, then walked away, then was approached by me as they were
walking away. It was later found that the vehicle was in fact stolen out of Missouri, incident #18-002350. Officer
Carter, advised the vin#s had been scraped at or attempted to be removed. Vehicle totaled by the fire and is
estimated to be $1700 due to the year.
A later inventory of Samuel's bags was conducted prior to booking the bags with his belongings into evidence.
During that search, 4 glass pipes containing burnt residue suspected to be marijuana, metal pipe, and one
socket and two containers, all of this had the odor of and was suspected to be marijuana.
Samuel is being charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, arson, criminal mischief $1,500-$5,000, false
information to a police officer of another and possession of paraphernalia
OFFICER SIGNATURE:
J. JANDA P253
The person would constitute a substantial danger to any other person or to the community, or is likely to flee the
jurisdiction of the court (they pose a threat to the public and/or they are a flight risk).
Officer Name: Josh Janda Badge ID: P253 Phone Number: (435)919-6245
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