Traffic stop leads to explosives discovery in southern Utah

A St. George man was arrested Thursday after police say they found him in possession of guns, drugs and explosives.

A St. George man was arrested Thursday after police say they found him in possession of guns, drugs and explosives. (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)


Save Story
KEY TAKEAWAYS
  • A traffic stop in St. George led to drug and weapon discoveries, police said.
  • Joshua Sapp, 47, was arrested for investigation of possessing explosives and illegal substances.

ST. GEORGE — A routine traffic stop led to the discovery of drugs, guns and explosives in St. George on Thursday.

Joshua Todd Sapp, 47, was pulled over near 500 West and 400 North for allegedly failing to signal while making a turn.

"While speaking to the driver, identified as Joshua Sapp, I observed his eyes were glossy and bloodshot, and his pupils were constricted. As Joshua went to find his driver's license, he indicated he had a firearm in his backpack," according to police booking affidavit.

It was determined that Sapp had a suspended concealed carry permit. A police K-9 was then called to the scene and indicated that drugs may be in the vehicle, police say.

"During the search of the vehicle, officers located a crystal-like substance which tested positive for methamphetamine. Additionally, officers located gabapentin prescription medication concealed in balloons, steroids, drug paraphernalia, and in a hidden compartment in the glovebox, we located a methamphetamine pipe with burnt methamphetamine residue," the affidavit states.

A handgun and two magazines were also found. When asked about the guns that go with the magazines, Sapp said they were at his home, and "he told me he had 'a bunch' of guns there," the officer wrote in the arrest report.

A search warrant was obtained for Sapp's residence, where "officers found more heroin paraphernalia, methamphetamine paraphernalia, marijuana, and marijuana paraphernalia" and prescription medications that Sapp claims he "found," according to the affidavit.

In Sapp's closet, police found a shotgun and "a bag filled with blast cap explosives, which Sapp "had no license to possess. ... Additionally, the explosives were stored in a fabric bag in a multi-unit apartment complex and not in an ATF-approved case as required," the affidavit states.

Sapp was arrested for investigation of possessing explosives, two counts of being a restricted person in possession of a gun, four counts of illegal possession of a prescription drug, two counts of drug possession, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

Most recent Police & Courts stories

Related topics

Pat Reavy, KSLPat Reavy
Pat Reavy interned with KSL in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL or Deseret News since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.
KSL.com Beyond Business
KSL.com Beyond Series

KSL Weather Forecast

KSL Weather Forecast
Play button