ST. GEORGE — A woman was arrested Tuesday afternoon during a traffic stop on Interstate 15 just north of Toquerville after authorities discovered she was driving a stolen car.
On Tuesday, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper was observing traffic when a red passenger car passed by at a high rate of speed, which radar clocked at 94 mph, according to charging documents filed in 5th District Court.
The trooper conducted a traffic stop near milepost 34, just south of the Snowfield Exit. While speaking to the driver, Tammy Leath Caldwell, 37, of Bakersfield, California, the trooper discovered she did not have her driver’s license with her.
Caldwell provided the trooper with the vehicle’s registration, which was in the name of a man who was not present, and then said she had “just” purchased the car, the report states.
After running a check on the license plate issued out of California, officials say they discovered the vehicle was reported as stolen out of Bakersfield, California, on July 21.
In addition, a check on Caldwell’s driver’s license indicated that it was suspended or revoked, the trooper noted.
The driver was taken into custody and the vehicle was inventoried prior to being impounded. During a search, troopers reportedly found pipes and suspected marijuana, as well as a backpack that contained a number of keys belonging to various vehicles of different makes and models.
The trooper also wrote that “given the totality of circumstances,” they suspected the keys and other found items were used by Caldwell in the commission of vehicle burglaries or thefts.
Caldwell was arrested and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility. She faces a second-degree felony count of receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle, along with misdemeanor charges for possession of burglary tools, marijuana and paraphernalia.
The case was turned over to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review and the suspect has yet to be formally charged with the offenses. Caldwell’s bail was set at $15,000.
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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