ST. GEORGE — A man who received dozens of charges after leading a multi-agency pursuit in July is headed back to Florida.
On Oct. 3, Alvaris Charles Dawson, 22, of Dana Beach, Florida, appeared before District Judge Jay Winward for a sentencing hearing held in 5th District Court. Dawson faced multiple charges, including five felony charges for theft of a firearm, one count of theft by receiving, two counts of unlawful possession of a financial card and failure to respond to command of police, as well as one count of vehicle burglary and unlawful use of a financial card, each a misdemeanor.
The charges were filed following a pursuit that began in Arizona and ended in St. George on July 15, when officers in both Utah and Arizona received a broadcast describing the two suspects, Dawson and passenger, Natalia Roc, 21, of Rivera Beach, Florida, who were reportedly involved in several felony thefts in both states. One of the thefts involved a vehicle burglary in which $2,500 in cash and bank cards were stolen.
After attempting to use the cards at a retail store in Washington City, Dawson and Roc were seen driving away in a black Dodge Durango, according to charging documents filed at the time of the arrests.
Officers were alerted that the suspects were attempting to use the stolen bank cards at two other retailers in the Washington City area. The Durango was then spotted heading south on Interstate 15 into St. George at more than 105 mph. Several minutes later, the SUV was found abandoned on Dixie Center Drive, and the suspects were found and arrested by police.
At the time of his arrest, Dawson received 28 charges that included two felony counts of theft, 10 felony counts of unlawful possession of a financial card, one felony count of evading, eight misdemeanor counts of unlawful use of a financial card, one count each of criminal conspiracy, failure to stop at the command of law enforcement, burglary of a vehicle, reckless driving, displaying a plate on the wrong vehicle and giving false information to a police officer. Of these, 20 charges were dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea.
During the hearing, Dawson addressed the court with an apology.
“I’m so sorry for coming to your state and did what I did — for everything I did,” he said, adding that once he returned to Florida, he wanted to get into a sober living home to get his life together, for both himself and his children.
After sentencing Dawson to serve 1-15 years on the second-degree felony charge and 0-5 years in prison on each of the third-degree felony charges, in addition to a year in county jail on each of the three misdemeanors, the judge suspended the sentences and gave Dawson credit for the 90 days he had already served since his arrest.
The judge said the reasoning for the suspension was due to a fugitive warrant issued out of Florida that was extraditable from Utah. This means the defendant, who had already waived extradition, would be returned to Florida to answer to his charges in Broward County, involving a grand theft auto case filed in January.
By extraditing Dawson, Utah would not be bearing the costs to incarcerate him, the judge said. Instead, those costs would be paid for by Florida.
Winward reminded Dawson that while he had suspended the prison sentence for each of the counts he pleaded guilty to, he also ordered those counts to run consecutively if imposed. Winward closed with a warning to Dawson should he return to his courtroom.
“If you come back here, then you will be punished severely,” Winward said.
The judge then ordered Dawson to be held in jail in Washington County while he awaited extradition back to Florida.
Co-defendant Roc
On Sept. 20, Roc appeared before District Judge G. Michael Westfall for her sentencing hearing at 5th District Court.
Roc was charged with 11 third-degree felony counts and four misdemeanor counts of unlawful possession of a financial card. She also was charged with nine misdemeanors: six counts of unlawful use of a financial card, two counts of possession of burglary tools and one count of vehicle burglary and possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.
She pleaded guilty to six felonies and four misdemeanors, while the remaining charges were dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea.
Roc was sentenced to serve 180 days in jail without any credit for the 65 days she had already served.
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