ST. GEORGE – Two men were arrested Saturday after a honked horn in the middle of traffic led to a road rage incident in St. George which then turned into a physical altercation with both men pulling out knives.
Just after 9 p.m., officers were dispatched to The Outlets at Zion parking lot, 250 N. Red Cliffs Drive, in St. George on reports of an assault, according to a probable cause statement filed by the St. George Police Department in support of the arrest.
When officers arrived, they spoke with 18-year-old John Thomas Dorosky, of Leeds.
“John told me he intentionally backed into a vehicle on Red Cliffs Dr., in a travel lane,” the arresting officer wrote in the statement.
Dorosky backed into the vehicle behind him in a fit of road rage, St. George Police Sgt. Spencer Holmes said, because the driver of the vehicle behind Dorosky honked her horn at him.
“The traffic light turned green and when the leading vehicle did not go, the following vehicle honked its horn,” Holmes said. “The lead vehicle intentionally backed up and hit the front bumper of the rear vehicle and then drove forward.”
Consequently, the female driver of the vehicle Dorosky hit followed him into a parking lot to request insurance information. After looking at her car, Dorosky told police he didn’t feel there was any damage, so he walked away from the driver, the statement said.
After about 20 minutes had passed, Dorosky said the driver’s boyfriend, identified as 39-year-old Thomas Charles Jacques, of St. George, showed up. According to the statement, the two men then began arguing and shouting at each other.
“During the course of the argument,” the arresting officer wrote, “both John and Thomas pulled out knives and displayed them to each other.”
The verbal altercation subsequently escalated into a physical altercation in the drive thru exit of Starbucks, the statement said, and was witnessed by at least five different people who filled out police statements.
The two men were reportedly hitting, punching and kicking each other in the parking lot.
When police arrived on scene, witnesses said Jacques had left the scene in a white GMC pickup truck. The truck was located and stopped near 1400 E. St. George Boulevard.
When questioned, Jacques told police his girlfriend called and told him another driver hit her vehicle then left the scene, the statement said. She then said she was waiting by both vehicles in The Outlets at Zion parking lot.
After arriving in the parking lot, Jacques said he got into a verbal argument with Dorosky, according to the probable cause statement. He and Dorosky both brandished knives while they were shouting at each other, Jacques told police.
“Thomas said the knives were put away, but the argument became physical,” the arresting officer wrote. “He said they both were on the ground punching and kicking and hitting each other.”
Jacques told police he got up from the ground and got away from Dorosky, and then got in his truck and decided to leave, the statement said. However, witnesses told police Jacques did more than simply drive away.
“I spoke with 5 independent witnesses that told me Thomas intentionally rammed the front of his pickup into the driver side of John’s vehicle,” the arresting officer wrote. “The impact caused more than $1500 in damage to three different vehicles. Thomas then left the scene of the crash.”
Both Dorosky and Jacques were arrested and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.
Dorosky was charged with a class A misdemeanor for the threat or use of a dangerous weapon in a fight, a class B misdemeanor for assault, a class C misdemeanor for failure to remain at the scene of an accident, and an infraction for improper backing. His bail was set at $3,770.
Dorosky’s court arraignment is scheduled for next Monday afternoon.
Jacques was charged with two class A misdemeanor for the threat or use of a dangerous weapon in a fight and criminal mischief for intentionally damaging property, a class B misdemeanor for assault, a class C misdemeanor for failure to remain at the scene of an accident, and an infraction for disorderly conduct. His bail was set at $5,620.
Jacques’ court arraignment is scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.
Why didn’t the woman just call the police?
That is what I was thinking.
Really? More stupid people being stupid.
this is actually why i carry a 9mm in my truck, in case of rednecks like these. they come at me i would use it. not gonna get my hands dirty 🙂
Now be careful calling people REDNECKS, you do not know the whole story, this article could be so wrong and misleading as to the actual events the way occurred.
lol k
fun bag this is probably the only comment that you’ve ever posted that I actually like and agree with 🙂
if you shoot someone with your old 9mm, your gona go to jail, even if you try to tell the coppers it was self defense.
an altercation involving a motor vehicle and a firearm is gona land you in the big house and a lifelong felony charge.
These two were probably valedictorians at their local Utah high schools. Morons
It will be funny to see something horrible like this happen to you, by complete accident, or whatever, and have a story put out there for everyone to read, that is wrong, and people say things like this about you. You would be mad because you couldn’t defend yourself.
lol.
They pulled out knives on each other over a minor traffic incident. Like RD said above, call the police, let them handle it. Now they both get to go through the court system, which I’m sure will be expensive in many ways.
This article was written in a pretty bad way, Repeated some things, quite a bit, out of order, uneducated written article. A few of the events happened happened, but most certainly not the way the are meant to be perceived by our community as the truth. Where do the Writers get their information?
Honking your horn at another driver is always a dicey deal, but frankly, I do it. When someone is so distracted that they don’t know a light has changed and since other people’s time is as important as theirs, they should be reminded to drive since that’s why they’re in the car. That said, there are toots and then there are HONKS. I think a toot gets someone’s attention without being offensive about it. Some of the lights around here are so long that I understand how some can let their minds wander a bit. However, when you’re at the front of the line, it’s your responsibility to get moving when the light changes and the path is clear. Be a “leader” not a dozer! As for backing into the gal’s car, I’m sure this was a great answer to the honk! I’m also pretty sure it will give him something to think about for a while. Her, too, probably.