CEDAR CITY, Utah, Dec. 25, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Highway Patrol troopers in Cedar City on Sunday apprehended a woman wanted in Ohio by police, who say she left the state with an infant without the mother’s permission.
Dispatch in Iron County was alerted by a call from the Bedford Heights (Ohio) Police Department saying that Shari Dolores Gould, 32, was wanted for allegedly taking an infant without permission from the baby’s mother. Police said Gould was believed to be heading south on Interstate 15 near mile marker 128.
“They told dispatch that she was in a dark gray Chevrolet Malibu (with) Ohio license plate KEC2955,” Gould’s affidavit says. “They stated that the female had a 4-month-old child that did not belong to her in the vehicle.
“They stated that she was not given permission from the mother to take the kid out of state. She was also refusing to return the child to the mother.”
A UHP official called police in Ohio, who said they were in the process of trying to ping Gould’s phone and file an arrest warrant for kidnapping, court documents say. Gould’s driver license had been suspended, her affidavit says.
“At approximately 18:43 I located the vehicle traveling southbound,” says a probable cause statement filed by the UHP officer. “I was able to confirm the license plate of the vehicle. As I was traveling southbound behind the vehicle I watched as the vehicle drift out of the lane of travel on the right multiple times.”
Near I-15 mile marker 75, the trooper activated emergency lights and pulled over the vehicle, “and found that there were six kids, 13 years of age and younger, in the vehicle,” his statement says. “Three of the children in the back did not have their seat belt fastened.”
Gould, found about 1,915 miles west of Bedford Heights, was taken into custody “for investigation into the kidnapping,” her affidavit says. A search of the vehicle turned up a marijuana pipe in the center console and two bags containing a small amount of cocaine, court documents say. One bag was under the driver’s seat, and the other was in the backseat, within the reach of the unrestrained children.
Also found in the back seat was a bag with marijuana and a .22 caliber pistol, locked but with a round in the chamber, court documents say.
“With the drugs in the vehicle, the suspect is a category 2 restricted person and cannot legally possess a firearm,” Gould’s affidavit says. “During the investigation, the 13-year-old child told us that the suspect had presented the firearm to them and would actively smoke marijuana in the vehicle with them while she was driving.”
Gould gave consent for an oral swab, and “the test was positive for THC,” the affidavit says. “She admitted that she had smoked marijuana out of a THC pen approximately three hours before the stop. This would be inside of Utah where she was illegally using marijuana in the vehicle without a medical card. “
Gould was booked into the Iron County Jail for investigation of:
- Six counts of endangerment of a child or vulnerable adult, a third-degree felony
- Purchase, transfer, possession or use of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony
- Possession of controlled substance schedule I/II/analog, a class A misdemeanor
- Driving with measurable controlled substance, a class B misdemeanor
- Possession of controlled substance marijuana/spice, a class B misdemeanor
- Driving on suspended or revoked license, a class C misdemeanor
- Three counts of failure to secure seat belt for child ages 8 to 16, an infraction
Gould has no ties to Utah, so would be likely to flee if released, the trooper’s statement says. She has been ordered held without bail in the Iron County Jail.
