ST. GEORGE —A suspect on pretrial release for an aggravated robbery case filed in Salt Lake City last month was arrested in Hurricane early Thursday morning for allegedly breaking into multiple vehicles parked near a business on State Street, police say.
Shortly before 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, an officer was dispatched to a custom car detailing business located on State Street on a report of a possible business burglary.
While en route, officers learned that a suspect was reportedly stealing gasoline from several vehicles parked in a lot near the business.
Officers say they arrived to find a suspect, identified as 26-year-old Dylan Duke Ketterer, of Highland, standing in front of the business. When officers asked what he was doing there in the middle of the night, Ketterer “refused to answer basic questions,” which is when investigators made contact with the owner of the shop, according to charging documents filed with the courts.
The shop owner told officers that until recently, they had allowed Ketterer to be on the property, but that changed when he started taking property and fuel from the vehicles parked in the lot, the report states.
During the investigation, officers learned that Ketterer was reportedly seen siphoning gas from one of the trucks parked in the lot into a red gas can that matched the fuel can sitting next to his vehicle when the first responding officers arrived at the scene.
Officers also learned Ketterer had reportedly taken a set of keys from inside the business to gain access to a second vehicle parked next to the vehicle he had just siphoned fuel from. Once he gained access, police say, he took a spotlight from the back seat of the pickup truck and put the item in the trunk of his car, and then began rummaging through the cab of a second truck parked nearby.
According to the report, the shop owner found both the stolen keys that belonged to the pickup truck and a spotlight identical to the one removed from the vehicle inside the trunk of Ketterer’s vehicle.
Ultimately, Ketterer was arrested, and prior to his transport, officers say they found what appeared to be heroin during a search of him.
Ketterer reportedly refused to answer any questions and was transported and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility.
At the time of the suspect’s arrest in Hurricane, Ketterer was out on bond on an open first-degree aggravated robbery case filed in Salt Lake County last month, according to court records.
The charges were filed following an incident reported April 15, when emergency dispatch received a call shortly before 3 a.m. reporting a break-in at a residence in Salt Lake City.
The caller told police that a suspect forced his way into the residence and then threatened the occupants with a baseball bat, the report states.
According to charging documents filed by Salt Lake City Police detectives, the suspect used the bat to break through the window on the front door and then swung the bat around while threatening the occupants.
The alleged intruder was identified as Ketterer. During an interview, he reportedly said he entered the residence “on the advice” of an associate who knew the home would be occupied in the middle of the night. He said he brought the bat “for his own protection” because the occupants did not live there, the report states.
Authorities say the Ketterer’s claims were not supported by the evidence collected at the scene that included mail and tracking numbers that confirmed that the two victims were the legal residents of the home when the incident took place.
On April 18, Ketterer was arrested and booked into jail in Salt Lake City. He was formally charged the next day with first-degree felony aggravated robbery and two third-degree felony counts of aggravated assault. He was held without bail until his initial hearing on April 24, when bail was set at $4,000, and he was released later that same day after posting a bond. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on that case in July.
Following the arrest in Hurricane early Thursday morning, Ketterer was formally charged with two counts of vehicle burglary and two counts of theft — each a misdemeanor, as well as possession of a controlled substance. He remains in custody on $1,500 bail.
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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