WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah, April 16, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Two people were booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility on Sunday, charged with multiple felonies in connection to a vicious attack that occurred Saturday.
According to a news release from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, on Saturday at about 10:41 p.m., St. George police were dispatched to Dixie Regional Medical Center on a report of an assault.
The 40-year-old male victim said he had been “strangled, beaten with a hammer and tied up with rope” by the suspects.
Police determined that the assault took place in an unincorporated area, called “Turkey Farm Road,” outside of St. George City limits.
The investigation was then turned over to Washington County Sheriff’s detectives.
When the detectives went to the hospital, they saw that the man’s injuries matched what he had told police and “included ligature marks around his ankles, wrist and neck.”
The victim, who lives in St. George, said he had been invited to the area by Sasha Michelle Davis, 20, also of St. George.
He said he and Davis are acquaintances, and he believed they would be meeting to have intimate relations.
He said he drove to the arranged location with another acquaintance.
According to the news release, the victim told detectives that after meeting with Davis in the remote area, he was assaulted by Kade Robert Shearer, 21, who started hitting him with a hammer. He said Davis used a stun gun on him and tried to tie him up with rope while Shearer assaulted him.
“Davis and Shearer fled the area in a black Honda Accord passenger car which was owned by the victims friend,” the news release continues. “The friend then drove the victim to Dixie Regional Medical Center in the victims vehicle. The victim was treated for numerous lacerations and bruises to his body resulting from the attack.”
Officials broadcast an “attempt to locate,” and at about 8 a.m. Sunday, deputies with the Iron County Sheriff’s Office found the Honda Accord in a field off Bench Road in Iron County. No one was in the car.
About four hours later, Cedar City Police officers and Iron County Sheriff’s deputies located the suspects at a residence in Cedar City, and they were taken into custody with the help of a police K-9.
Both Davis and Shearer were taken for medical treatment before being transferred over to Washington County deputies, the release states.
After interviewing both suspects, detectives believe that Shearer had hidden in the trunk of a vehicle and attacked when the victim and Davis were alone in the victim’s car.
The suspects are also believed to have taken the victim’s cellphone and wallet to destroy evidence and prevent him from calling police, the release says. Washington County and Iron County investigators are looking into reports that the suspects used the stolen credit cards at a Walmart in Cedar City.
Davis and Shearer are being held in Purgatory Correctional Facility on $50,000 cash only bail. They are charged with:
- Aggravated assault, a third-degree felony
- Aggravated robbery, a second-degree felony
- Aggravated kidnapping, a second-degree felony
- Threats against life, a class B misdemeanor
- Tampering with evidence, a class A misdemeanor
According to the news release, Shearer also had warrants for his arrest based on unrelated incidents.
The investigation is not yet complete, and additional charges may be filed later.
The news release ends with a note of thanks from WCSO:
“The Sheriff’s Office would like to acknowledge and thank all the agencies who assisted in locating the suspects in this investigations. Their timely apprehension would not have been possible otherwise.”
