Southern Utah Police Nab Man In Scene Straight Out Of The Movies

A robbery suspect is in jail, but only after he turned Washington County into a crazy police chase and suspect pursuit that those involved will not soon forget.

In a scene that seems like it was lifted straight from a Hollywood script, police from multiple agencies, including St. George Police Department, Washington County Sheriff's Department, an interagency SWAT team and a Utah Highway Patrol helicopter, tracked down a man who was hiding in a tree after several burglaries and a police pursuit.

In the early morning hours Monday morning (between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m.), police say a suspect triggered an alarm at a plumbing supply store on 3050 East. That's when things got turned up a notch:

While clearing the business, dispatch received a call that another plumbing supply business had its front door broken out near 1160 S Main. As officers arrived on the scene, dispatch received an alarm from another business in the area of 1300 S 320 E. Officers responded quickly and found the front door to the business shattered as well.

Police issued an Attempt To Locate (ATL) for a vehicle that may have a large haul of plumbing supplies. A short time later, the WCSD located a van matching the description and after following it for a bit, attempted to pull the vehicle over on St. George Boulevard. The man in the vehicle took off.

(Police) pursued the van to about 500 S 1000 E, where the driver jumped out of the moving van and fled east.

Police then setup containment and requested SWAT and a UHP helicopter. With the help of the helicopter and some specialized equipment, the man was located hiding in a tree near Interstate-15.

It was a textbook case of multiple agencies working together to apprehend a suspect and recover thousands of dollars in property.

Jayme L Patterson was booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility Monday morning with a list of charges including burglary, theft, criminal mischief and fleeing/evading police. Patterson is a native of Las Vegas.

Detectives began processing what turned out to be a large crime scene soon after the arrest.