ST. GEORGE — A man with an extensive criminal history is back in jail after he allegedly broke into a home while the occupants were sleeping. He was reportedly found hiding in a bathroom by one of the residents who called 911 for help.
Shortly after 4 a.m. Monday, officers were dispatched to a Santa Clara residence on a report of a residential burglary in progress.
Officers arrived to find a suspect at the front of the residence who slammed the door as soon as he saw police, according to charging documents filed with the courts.
As several people could be heard yelling from inside the home, police entered the home and found the suspect on the stairs. Police say the suspect refused to comply and after a short scuffle, the suspect was taken into custody.
The suspect, 29-year-old Trenton Ryan Begay, of Hurricane, was transported and booked into jail on one second-degree felony count of burglary of a dwelling and a misdemeanor for resisting arrest.
According to the report, before police responded to the residence, Begay had entered the Santa Clara home where multiple residents were sleeping. He was found hiding in the bathroom by one of the tenants and was told to leave. When he refused to leave, the occupants called emergency dispatch to report the incident.
Begay was found to be on probation for an assault case filed Dec. 3, 2022, in which officers were dispatched to a home in St. George after receiving a call that Begay was arguing “and being aggressive with everyone in the home,” the report states.
Officers say they found Begay hiding under one of the beds in an upstairs bedroom, and he was ordered out of the room.
During the encounter, Begay, who smelled of alcohol and showed signs of impairment, reportedly assaulted one resident and threatened another, which is when officers approached and attempted to take him into custody on suspected misdemeanor disorderly and intoxication charges.
A fight broke out, and Begay reportedly kicked one of the officers in the groin and then proceeded to head-butt a second officer.
He was detained shortly thereafter and transported to jail in Washington County on two third-degree felony charges of assault by a prisoner, as well as intoxication.
The public safety assessment filed at the time of the December arrest indicated an elevated risk of committing a violent offense. Six months after the arrest, Begay pleaded guilty to one of the assault charges while the remaining charges were dismissed.
Begay also was sentenced on a probation violation filed in connection with an earlier incident that occurred in 2021, in which he was charged with aggravated arson. In this case, on May 12, 2021, officers stopped Begay in Hurricane for reportedly assaulting a woman, according to charging documents filed at the time of the arrest.
While speaking to Begay, officers were advised by the St. George Consolidated Communications Center that a structure fire had just been reported at a trailer in Hurricane, a residence that was owned by the woman whom Begay had reportedly assaulted.
Begay reportedly told officers he had broken into the trailer because he wanted to get even with the woman whom he said he had a prior relationship with, as well as the woman’s boyfriend who lived in the trailer.
Begay admitted he started the fire using hand sanitizer and then left the trailer to burn, police say. Firefighters responded and extinguished the blaze before it spread to the other nearby trailers. Officers also noted that strong winds were blowing through the area at the time of the incident.
Begay was later arrested and charged with aggravated arson — a charge he pleaded guilty to and was sentenced to serve one year in jail on during a hearing held in October of 2021.
He was released the following year and placed on three years’ probation, which he reportedly violated multiple times. He was sentenced on the most recent violation during the hearing held in May of last year; during which, he was ordered to serve one year in jail on both cases and he was released from custody in December.
Monday morning’s arrest took place within weeks of his release on the two prior cases and Begay remains in jail without bail.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. 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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