ST. GEORGE — A man accused of a carjacking and burglary in December is in jail facing aggravated robbery following a monthslong investigation by the St. George Police Department.

Shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Monday, 21-year-old Aaron Ezquivel, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was booked into Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility on a no-bail warrant issued in March out of 5th District Court in St. George. 

The arrest stems from an incident reported Dec. 18, 2023, involving a business burglary at a jewelry store on North 3050 East in St. George, according to the affidavit filed in support of the arrest. 

When officers arrived at the store, which was closed at the time, they found a window next to the glass entry doors shattered, as well as a baseball bat and a bullet in the parking lot. 

Inside the store, detectives say they found several smashed glass display cases, a small sledgehammer, a set of car keys belonging to a Hyundai Elantra, as well as a cellphone that would “become a key factor in helping to identify the suspect.”  

They also found drops of blood that suggested the suspect likely injured himself during the break-in. Blood samples were collected for analysis.

The store’s security footage showed an individual smash through the front window with a sledgehammer and then enter the store. The suspect could then be seen “running around very erratically and appeared to be smashing anything that appeared to be glass and contained jewelry,” the officer noted in the report.

At one point, the suspect stopped and appeared to be focused on one particular area, which was near where the sledgehammer was later located, the report states. Investigators say this led them to suspect the burglar lost the hammer in his haste to break through the cabinets. 

From there, authorities say the footage shows the suspect using his fists to break the glass of the remaining displays, which likely cut his fists, leaving blood behind as a result.

Around this time, a man called emergency dispatch, reporting that his vehicle had just been stolen at gunpoint. The caller said he was ordered out of his car while it was still running, and the suspect got in and drove off. He added that the vehicle was equipped with an onboard camera system. 

As it turned out, the vehicle was a Hyundai Elantra, which led investigators to suspect the carjacking and burglary were possibly connected since both incidents were reported in close succession to one another. 

While investigators were still processing the scene of the burglary, they were notified of an abandoned car found under the St. George Boulevard overpass of Interstate 15. The car turned out to be a Hyundai Elantra that matched the vehicle taken during the carjacking. A black hoodie also was found on the ground nearby.

A bloody pair of gloves were found in the car and collected as evidence. The owner of the car confirmed the Hyundai was his and said the black hoodie matched the one the suspect was wearing when his car was taken, according to the report. 

The Hyundai’s onboard security system was activated within moments of the car being taken. Footage showed the vehicle leaving the area and heading north on I-15 before taking the Green Springs Exit, where it proceeded directly to the jewelry store and stopped in the parking lot just south of the business.

The footage then shows the suspect exiting the car with the engine still running, the sound of glass breaking can then be heard in the background, investigators say. 

The suspect eventually returned to the car and sped off, running a red light on Telegraph Street and continuing without any headlights to the interstate heading south toward St. George, the footage shows.

The Hyundai exited the freeway at the overpass, where a silver passenger car with no headlights can be seen. The suspect then got out of the Hyundai and into the silver car, which then sped off. 

Meanwhile, the cellphone recovered from the jewelry store was receiving texts, including one message that ultimately was used to identify Ezquivel as the owner of the cellphone, police say.

According to the report, losses to the business include $7,500 in damaged property in addition to the value of the stolen jewelry.

Based on evidence collected at the scene, investigators requested that a no-bail warrant be issued for the suspect’s arrest. 

On Feb. 29, the case was filed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office and Ezquivel was formally charged with a first-degree felony count of aggravated robbery and two second-degree felony charges that include one count of property damage and one count of theft of a motor vehicle.

He was also charged with two third-degree felonies for burglary and theft, along with one misdemeanor count of reckless driving. In March, a warrant was issued for his arrest. 

Ezquivel is scheduled to make an initial appearance in 5th District Court in St. George on Thursday, and he remains in jail without bail at this time.

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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