ST. GEORGE — Two suspects face felony charges following an investigation into a report of a theft that took place in the women’s locker room of a local gym last week, and one suspect was out on pretrial release on a robbery charge filed last month.
Officers responded Thursday to a report alleging that a credit card had been stolen from the women’s locker room of an athletic club on North Mall Drive in St. George. Officers also learned that a pair of shoes were taken during the incident.
The following day, investigators identified one of the suspects allegedly involved as Nicholas Eugene Tacy, 24, of Hurricane, who was captured on video footage reportedly using the cards, according to the probable cause statements filed in support of the arrests.
Tacy was arrested late Friday and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility facing two third-degree felony counts of unlawful acquisition of a financial card and a misdemeanor theft charge.
Officers learned Saturday that a second suspect, Kelsey Sue Jones, 23, of Toquerville, reportedly entered the women’s locker room where the cards were taken from, and shortly thereafter, the two suspects, along with two teens who had gone to the gym to work out with the pair, were seen leaving the athletic club together.
Once in the car, Jones had several credit cards that did not belong to her, and after leaving the gym, they went to a number of retailers where Tacy was captured on the security footage using the cards to purchase several items, the report alleges.
While speaking with police, Jones reportedly denied taking the cards, and told investigators that she had gone to the gym only to “shower and change,” the officer noted.
The suspect’s account was called into question, however, when officers viewed the gym’s security footage that showed Jones exiting the gym wearing the same clothes that she arrived in, and they also noted that her hair was dry.
The suspect was also seen with a backpack that “appeared to be full of items,” and they also found a pair of shoes that matched the shoes reportedly taken during the incident on a juvenile that was seen entering the locker room with the suspect.
Officers then asked the suspect how the alleged stolen shoes came to be in the possession of the juvenile, when the security footage showed the juvenile leaving the locker room empty-handed. The suspect said she did not steal the shoes and did not know how they ended up with the youth.
Investigators learned it was Jones who reportedly handed Tacy four bank cards when the group entered the vehicle, along with $200 in cash, which matched the property reportedly taken during the incident.
In all, more than $450 in fraudulent purchases were reportedly charged on the cards.
The video evidence also suggested no one else was carrying anything out of the gym, other than Jones, leading investigators to suspect it was she who reportedly took the items.
On Saturday afternoon, Jones was arrested and transported to jail in Washington County facing four third-degree felony counts of unlawful acquisition of a financial card and one misdemeanor count of theft.
Tacy was formally charged with two third-degree felony counts of unlawful acquisition of a financial card and two misdemeanor counts of unlawful use of a financial card and he was released from jail early Saturday morning, while Jones was formally charged with the offenses as listed and was released shortly after 1 a.m. on Sunday.
At the time of Tacy’s arrest, the suspect was out on pretrial release on a second-degree felony robbery charge filed in connection with an incident report at a home improvement store on the afternoon of Aug. 13. Officers allege the suspect shoved two loss prevention employees out of the way when they attempted to stop him from leaving the store with a cart full of items without paying for them. That case is still open in the courts.
Both suspects are scheduled to make an initial appearance in 5th District Court in St. George on Nov. 13.
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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