PROVO, Utah, April 13, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A Provo man was booked into the Utah County Jail after he allegedly summoned an Uber driver, then invited her to come to his room multiple times, which she declined, then he attempted to take her phone and her keys.
Ronan Thomas Fitzmaurice, 37, has been charged on suspicion of:
- Robbery, a second-degree felony
- Obstruction of justice, a class A misdemeanor
- Damage/interruption of communication device, a class B misdemeanor
- Intoxication, a class C misdemeanor
A probable cause statement filed in the case says that just after 11 p.m. Monday, an officer of the Provo Police Department responded on a call reporting an assault.
“The victim, an Uber driver, reported that a male who was intoxicated had asked her to come up to his room multiple times and she refused multiple times,” the statement says. “She stated that she hit her breaks and told the suspect, later identified as Ronan Fitzmaurice, to get out of her car.
“She stated that Ronan then reached up from the back seat and tried taking her keys from the ignition. She stated she grabbed at the keys to prevent him from taking them and he continued to try and take them. She stated that she then said she was going to call 911 at which point she reported that Ronan grabbed her phone and tried to take it but was not successful.”
The driver said Fitzmaurice then left the car. The officer recovered the suspect’s cellphone from the back seat of the Uber driver’s car.
“Dispatch informed me that Ronan had called in, and we were able to get a home address where we later met him. Ronan called in to report that the victim was driving intoxicated. I asked him what had happened, and he stated that the Uber driver had picked him up and driven him to the gas station to buy beer.
“Ronan stated that on the way back the driver did not take the correct route to his house, so he believed she was drunk. I saw no signs of impairment of the victim at any point in my talking to her. Ronan stated that the driver stopped the car and he tried to take the keys from her because he thought she was impaired in some way.”
Fitzmaurice denied trying to take the phone from the victim, the probable cause statement says.
“I could clearly smell alcohol coming from Ronan and he was slurring his speech. I placed Ronan under arrest for the attempted robbery and interruption of a communication device. I walked Ronan back to my car and instructed him to get in.
“Ronan refused to put his feet inside my car. I told him multiple times to get in my car and he continued to refuse even after I told him I would charge him with obstruction if he didn’t put his feet in now. Officers had to physically put his feet inside the car. Ronan stated that he knew he ‘fucked up’ and asked if I could take him home and we could forget about the whole thing.”
Fitzmaurice declined to submit to a field sobriety test, the statement said. He was booked into jail, with his bail set at $5,000.
