MURRAY — A homeless man charged last fall with digging a giant hole under an I-15 overpass, causing about $10,000 in damage, has been arrested again and accused of digging another hole.
Troy Coyn Jones, 45, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of trespassing and criminal mischief/recklessly impairing critical infrastructure.
Murray police began looking for Jones on Wednesday in the area of 425 W. Winchester after "locating another large hole he dug under the UTA TRAX line structure over Winchester Street. Today I located him inside this hole," the arresting officer wrote in a police booking affidavit.
Jones was arrested at the same location on Monday and charged Tuesday in Murray Justice Court with illegal camping, a class B misdemeanor.
It is also the same area where Jones was arrested last year after UTA employees discovered a larger hole allegedly dug by Jones under I-15 near 423 W. Winchester Street.
"The tunnel was near the pillar that supports I-15 northbound. Jones stated that he had slept in the weeds and then decided to dig the hole. The hole was 6 feet tall," according to charging documents. Police described "the cave" as being on UDOT property in a fenced-off area with "no trespassing" signs.
State crews ended up filling that hole with concrete. Jones was charged for the incident with criminal mischief impairing critical infrastructure, a second-degree felony. A preliminary hearing in that case is scheduled for March 3.
