ST. GEORGE — Two convicted felons were arrested Friday night following a month-long investigation into reports of harassment, road blockages and civilian traffic stops for speeding.
Washington County Sheriff’s deputies arrested two suspects — Justin Lyle Norwood and Robert Joseph Clack, both 37 — Friday in the Dalton Wash area of Virgin and each faces one third-degree felony count of failing to register as a sex offender, according to charging documents filed with the court.
Norwood also faces a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief, while Clack faces a third-degree felony count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia.
The suspects were later determined to be non-compliant sex offenders from Oregon.
The arrest stems from an investigation that began in June when deputies were asked to follow up on reports involving a group of individuals who were blocking access to Dalton Wash Road, which is one of the roadways leading up to a number of luxury vacation rentals in the area. They were digging two deep ditches in the road to act as speed bumps and were reportedly harassing the employees of the rental company.
The problems began June 21, according to several witnesses who told deputies that both suspects were yelling at the vacation rental employees and threatening to install a gate to block access to the roadway, which made it difficult for the staff to pass the men.
Investigators learned that overnight, two trenches had been dug that were more than a foot deep and extended nearly the entire width of the roadway. Photos of the trenches were taken the following morning and turned over to authorities.
The trenches were situated near a curve in the roadway that was preceded by a ditch filled with rocks, which limited visibility and left unsuspecting motorists unable to see the ditches until they struck them.
“Someone traveling the road would not be able to see these trenches and could easily hit them — causing an accident and harm to the occupants of the vehicle,” the deputy noted.
With the obstructions creating an accident risk to anyone traveling the roadway, the trenches were filled with dirt to allow motorists to get through safely.
Investigators learned the suspects were part of a group of individuals reportedly squatting on a nearby property, and they also learned there were prior incidents with law enforcement.
A number of the witnesses reported that two of the men, one who identified himself as “Justin” had reportedly told them during one confrontation that “they would be stopping every vehicle for speeding down the road and would be making roadblocks or speed bumps.”
Another witness said they were stopped by the same suspect who made vague threats that if motorists continued speeding they could be involved in an accident.
According to the report, deputies were familiar with the group from prior incidents and quickly identified one of the males as Norwood.
The statements led investigators to suspect the group believed they owned the land in the area and were trying to enforce speed laws on public property, as well as causing damage to the county road by digging the deep ditches “to slow the vehicles down in the area and take matters into their own hands rather than involving law enforcement.”
Deputies contacted a county road superintendent who responded to the area to survey and document the damage to the roadway, which was estimated to cost more than $1,025 to repair.
During the month-long investigation, deputies determined that Norwood was a sex offender out of Oregon who still listed a current address in that state. Investigators reached out to the Oregon State Police unit that monitors the state’s Sex Offender Registry and discovered that agents there still believed Norwood was living in Oregon, as of February, and that Norwood had called into agents in Oregon asking to leave the state, but was told he needed to submit a request, which he never did.
The suspect “left anyways and came to Utah,” the deputy wrote.
When the suspect attempted to register in Utah, he was denied without photo identification.
The second suspect, Clack, was also a sex offender out of Oregon who was restricted from leaving the state without prior approval.
Similar to Norwood, deputies learned that Clack was a sex offender out of Oregon who had been arrested previously for failing to register. Agents in Oregon told deputies they believed Clack was still living in Oregon and after advising authorities there of the suspect’s history in Utah, agents listed Clack as non-compliant due to him leaving Oregon without approval.
On Monday, both suspects were found camping in an area off of Kolob Terrace Road, just a mile north of Pocketville Road, a vast expanse of wilderness to the northeast of Virgin.
While speaking to deputies, Norwood said he had seen the trenches in the roadway, but he reportedly denied making them. He went on to tell deputies he knew who was responsible for digging the trenches but would not provide a name and then admitted that he had stopped a number of vehicles for speeding.
Both suspects were arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility on the charges as listed in the report.
During Clack’s arrest, the suspect yelled out to a third man, Skylar Morris, to “go grab the shotgun and just shoot him,” the report states.
That was when deputies learned that all three men were recently living on a property in the Dalton Wash area of Virgin and were asked to leave by the property owner. All three men, deputies allege, were not allowed to own or possess any firearms, being that all were convicted felons with cases in Oregon, Washington, California and Nevada.
During a search of two trailers on the property deputies recovered a large one-pound bag of marijuana they later learned belonged to Clack, the report alleges. With Clack already in jail following the July 5 arrest, he was later charged with the felony distribution offense. Both men remain in custody on $5,000 bail each. Felony weapons charges have yet to be filed in any other cases.
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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