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ST. GEORGE — St. George police are searching for a man who they say carjacked a vehicle, robbed a jewelry store and crashed the stolen car.
St. George police received the report of a carjacking incident about 5:45 p.m. Monday. Police said a man with a gun successfully took a vehicle and fled the area.
The man then robbed a jewelry store near 3050 East, crashed the stolen vehicle on I-15 and ran away, police said. St. George Boulevard was flooded with police as they searched for the man.
As of Tuesday night, St. George police have not given an update on whether the man has been found. Police described him as a Hispanic male in all-black clothing and said he is considered armed and dangerous.
Also Monday, five men were arrested in St. George and accused of taking money from an ATM that was being repaired.
Is crime increasing in St. George?
Residents have voiced concerns that crime has increased in St. George in the last few years.
St. George police spokeswoman Tiffany Mitchell said the department is posting more about crimes on social media in an effort to be transparent and raise awareness, but it might be contributing to the perception that crime is increasing.
"We're putting out more information to the public in effort to keep them informed and keep them safe and keep them educated — help them to feel a part of the community and know what's going on. With that comes the knowledge that things are happening where maybe three to five years ago, we weren't putting out that information as often," she said.
According to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification, burglaries in the city have gone down from 242 in 2019 to 149 in 2022 and 89 so far in 2023. Aggravated assaults are trending upward with 105 in 2019 and 143 in 2022.
"It makes me very uneasy. We have kids and grandkids and I don't like the way it's going," St. George resident Valerie Gunn said about the crime in the city.
Mitchell said a good number of the thefts and armed robberies occurring are committed by people who don't live in St. George.
"Don't try it here, or you're going to end up in cuffs. Let's put it that way," Mitchell said.
