A Provo man will return to court next week on a felony theft charge after he was found walking on state Route 36 following a crash in a stolen car.
Shawn B. Jones, 28, is charged with second-degree felony theft by receiving stolen property and misdemeanor driving with any measurable controlled substance in the body.
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper found Jones walking northbound on SR-36 near milepost 52 around 6:20 a.m. on Sept. 29, according to a probable cause statement. The trooper stopped to check Jones’s welfare and noticed he had an open cut and swelling near his left eye.
Jones told the trooper a tree caused his injuries and said he was heading to Provo, despite walking northbound, the statement said. He also told the trooper he had a couple active warrants for his arrest and dispatch confirmed six active warrants for drug-related charges.
A second trooper and a Tooele County Sheriff’s deputy also arrived on scene, with the law enforcement officers noticing signs of impairment, according to the statement. Jones was arrested on the warrants and a search of person turned up items, including a vehicle key fob and ignition key. He told police the key belonged to his sister’s vehicle and they could call to verify.
While at the Tooele County Detention Center, law enforcement learned another sheriff’s deputy had given Jones a ride from the SR-36 and state Route 73 junction to Stockton prior to his arrest, the statement said.
Later the same morning, dispatchers notified the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office of an abandoned vehicle stuck in a ditch near milepost 7 on SR-73, the probable cause statement said. The sheriff’s deputy who located the car reported it was a Ford Thunderbird that was reported stolen from Peterson Auto in Draper.
While discussing the abandoned car, one of the arresting deputies remembered the key and fob found in Jones’s possession were from a Ford, the statement said. Jones’s first known location was at the intersection of SR-36 and SR-73, only 7 miles from where the car was abandoned.
The key and fob were tested on the abandoned Thunderbird at approximately 10:30 a.m. The key was tested and confirmed to belong to the car, the statement said. Deputies attempted to interview Jones but he refused to speak and refused consent for a blood draw.
During his initial appearance in 3rd District Court on Oct. 10, Jones was assigned a public defender and his bail was set at $10,000. He is scheduled to return to court for a scheduling conference on Oct. 23 at 9 a.m. before Judge Matthew Bates.