ST. GEORGE — A man who was arrested during a traffic stop on drug and weapons charges in Hurricane will not be returning to his home state anytime soon — after he was allegedly tied to a string of storage unit burglaries in Parowan.
On Wednesday, 45-year-old Daniel Thomas Otoole, of Bakersfield, California, appeared for sentencing on a case that was filed July 8, following his arrest during a traffic stop on State Street in Hurricane the previous day, prompted by a moving violation and ended in a search of the man’s vehicle.
During the search, Hurricane Police officers found a rifle, ammunition and two clear baggies of suspected methamphetamine, according to court documents. Police say the back of the vehicle was also filled with tools and miscellaneous property, which Otoole reportedly said were in the vehicle because he had no other place to store them.
A background check later revealed an active arrest warrant from North Dakota on a robbery case.
Otoole was arrested and booked into jail on a felony weapons charge, as well as four misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia. Detectives noted the case was still open while they worked to find the owners of the property recovered from the car.
According to the police report, much of that property was reported stolen during a string of storage unit burglaries in Parowan. The first was reported July 9, when a caller told officers he arrived at his storage unit to find evidence of forced entry, including a damaged latch.
Following the first call, five more residents reported similar break-ins at the same storage facility in Parowan, including one complainant who told officers a new Dewalt hammer drill and storage tubs were missing from his unit that was broken into after the lock was cut, the report states.
Another party said a briefcase containing a checkbook and military documents was taken, while others reported damaged locks and units that appeared to have been rummaged through.
Following Otoole’s arrest, a Hurricane Police detective contacted Parowan officers to advise them of the stolen property found in his vehicle, including a checkbook that reportedly matched one taken during the storage unit break-ins.
Detectives in Parowan then submitted six third-degree felony burglary charges.
On Wednesday, Otoole was sentenced to serve 60 days in jail on the Hurricane case after the charges were reduced to misdemeanors as part of a plea agreement.
The following day, the defendant made an initial appearance in 5th District Court in Cedar City via video on the six felony burglary charges, and a preliminary-waive hearing was scheduled to take place Monday.
For now, Otoole will remain in custody in Washington County while he serves out his sentence on the Hurricane case.
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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