GRAND COUNTY, Utah, April 6, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — A Georgia man was arrested Saturday in Grand County after his bleeding girlfriend told deputies she had been kidnapped and beaten for hours, and the suspect denied that account, telling officers the woman had punched herself repeatedly.
Grand County dispatch was alerted at 1:42 p.m., and Grand County Sheriff deputies found the woman near 2263 S. Highway 191. She had damaged teeth and fresh and dried blood on her face, the man’s arrest documents say.
The vehicle, registered in Georgia to the woman, was spotted at a McDonald’s in Moab, and later was found further north on Highway 191. The man, Andrew Thomas Pate, said the woman had hurt herself by jumping out of the vehicle repeatedly.
After being advised the woman did not have scrapes on her body, but did have facial injuries and knocked-out teeth, Pate changed his story to say the woman had repeatedly punched herself in the face.
Pate was driving on a suspended Georgia license and was found to have a bottle of Fireball, a cinnamon-flavored Canadian whisky, by the driver’s seat, his arrest documents say.
Pate was arrested for investigation of alleged:
- Aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony
- Kidnapping, a second-degree felony
- Driving on a suspended or revoked license, a class C misdemeanor
- Open container in vehicle on highway, a class C misdemeanor
He was ordered held without bail.
