ST. GEORGE, Utah, March 8, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A St. George woman and man were booked into jail after they allegedly held a man against his will, and stole $3,179 worth of his property and money.
Georgia B. Jones, 26, and Michael D. Rottmund, 24, have each been charged on suspicion of:
- Aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony
- Aggravated kidnapping, a third-degree felony
- Theft, a third-degree felony
- Three counts of possession of a controlled substance, schedule l/ll/analog
- Possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
- Two counts of possession of a controlled substance, marijuana/spice
In addition, Jones faces a charge of possession of another’s identity documents, a third-degree felony.
Probable cause statements filed against the suspects say St. George Police were contacted by the alleged victim just before 10 p.m. Saturday.
The victim told officers he was held against his will after Jones, the homeowner, confronted him about several thousand dollars she said she believed were stolen from her house. The victim denied the theft.
Later, the other homeowner, Rottmund, returned and also confronted the victim about the alleged theft.
“Georgia and (Michael Rottmund) both took property from (the victim’s) person and they both assaulted (him) during the confrontation,” the probable cause statements say. The victim’s injuries were consistent with physical assault, the statement says.
The victim said “after they assaulted him he tried to fight back and Michael pulled out a large knife and held it to (the victim’s) body. Michael then told (the victim) to sit down and not to move.”
Rottmund then forced the victim to strip so his clothing could be searched for items of value, the police statement says. The victim’s “cash, clothing, jewelry, gift cards and numerous other items were stolen from his person during the encounter,” the affidavit says.
Jones and Rottmund allegedly refused to let the victim leave, with Rottmund saying “he would stab him if he tried to run. (The victim) said he was in fear for his life and was able to contact a relative on the phone and have $900 transferred into Georgia’s PayPal account. After the money transferred, Georgia and Michael kept (the victim’s) belongings and eventually allowed him to leave the home after they had detained him there for about five hours.”
The man contacted police, who contacted Rottmund as he loaded property into his car, the statement says. A search warrant was served on Rottmund’s and Jones’ residence and car, it says.
(The victim’s) property was found in their car and in their home. An estimated total amount of money and property that was taken was $3,179.84. Approximately $1,864.84 was recovered out of the vehicle and home and returned.”
About $115 in property, $300 in cash and $900 from the money transfer was not recovered, the statement say.
Also recovered were drugs and drug paraphernalia, and identifying documents with names “George said were from when she worked for an Internet company where she said they needed to be shredded.”
Jones and Rottmund are being held without bail.
