ST. GEORGE — An 18-year-old was transported to Washington County after authorities up north found two felony warrants issued, one of which involved an attempted kidnapping last year that resulted in an aggravated assault conviction.

The defendant, Spencer Jordan Ginner, 18, was booked into jail in Washington County Wednesday on two warrants issued out of 5th District Court in connection with a pair of unrelated cases filed in September.

Ginner was originally charged with second-degree felony, kidnapping and aggravated assault, a third-degree felony. He also pleaded guilty to a theft charge in an unrelated case, and in November, he pleaded guilty to the theft charge, as well as the assault charge, while the kidnapping charge was dismissed.

In December, he appeared for sentencing and was ordered to go into a rehabilitation program. On Jan. 5, the first warrant was issued for a probation violation, followed by a second warrant issued by District Judge John J. Walton when Ginner failed to appear for a hearing held on Feb. 5 on an alleged violation filed on the theft case. The defendant was booked into the Weber County Jail on the warrant and then transported to Washington County where he is being held for an appearance scheduled in 5th District Court in St. George on Feb. 22. 

Ginner was reported as a missing juvenile on May 4, when just before midnight an alert was sent out advising that police are looking for two boys, one of whom was identified as Ginner, then 17,  St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell told St. George News at the time of the incident.

Four months later, authorities responded to a report that Ginner had reportedly arrived at a mental health facility in St. George where, police say Ginner threatened one of the female staff members with a knife and tried to kidnap a resident. The report also stated that while holding the knife on the staff member, Ginner reportedly held onto the resident saying, “I will take her or I will stab.”

A staff member was able to get the knife away from Ginner, who was arrested at the Pilot gas station in St. George later that same evening. He was then booked into jail in Washington County and was charged the following day.

Four days prior, the suspect was arrested for reportedly stealing a vehicle parked at one of the area’s group homes that turned out to belong to one of the staff working at the facility.

The following day, officers in St. George were notified by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department that both the suspect and the vehicle had been located. Metro officers also told investigators in St. George that Ginner reportedly admitted to taking the vehicle without permission and admitted he knew it was wrong, according to charging documents filed at the time of the arrest. 

Three months later, the defendant appeared in court and was sentenced in both cases during a hearing held in December. When he failed to appear in court on the two probation violations in January the warrants were issued for his arrest.

Those warrants were picked up by the Weber County Sheriff’s Office and he was booked into jail. Once authorities in Washington County were notified of the arrest Ginner was transported back to Southern Utah and was booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility. The defendant is scheduled to appear in 5th District Court on both cases on Feb. 22.

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, 2024, all rights reserved.

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