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ST. GEORGE — A southern Utah man is facing federal charges accusing him of damaging a Department of Homeland Security vehicle while wearing only a mask, goggles and his underwear.
Ryan Michael Gaines, 32, of Santa Clara, was charged in federal court with damaging government property. The indictment was handed down on May 13 and unsealed on Wednesday.
About 7:30 a.m. on April 21, St. George police were called to the St. George Immigration Department, 389 N. Industrial Road, where "a van belonging to Homeland Security Investigations was damaged. Both driver and passenger mirrors had been damaged, and the driver's side of the van had been scratched with an unknown sharp object," a police booking affidavit states.
Investigators reviewed surveillance video, which recorded a vehicle pulling into the parking lot, and a man wearing only underwear, a mask and goggles damaging the mirror of the van. "The man also was seen flipping off the camera with his middle finger," the affidavit states.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah said Thursday that Gaines "approached the ICE transit van and ripped pieces from the passenger side mirror. The same type of damage was made on the driver's side mirror." Damage to the vehicle was estimated at just under $3,000.
Gaines was identified by police using surveillance video.
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