St. George woman with decade of past convictions sentenced to prison for felony theft

ST. GEORGE —  A St. George woman was sentenced to prison for felony theft following an arrest in December concerning stolen items officers found in her purse, which she stated were not stolen but hidden from her friend until Christmas.

2020 file photo of Saryssa Breann Sagendorf, 31, of St. George, booking photo taken In Washington County, Utah, Nov. 29, 2020 | File photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Saryssa Breann Sagendorf, 31, appeared before District Judge Keith Barnes during a sentencing hearing held Feb. 25 in 5th District Court after pleading guilty to third-degree felony theft charges on Jan. 14. The charges were filed in two separate cases and were addressed during the hearing. In exchange for a guilty plea, one misdemeanor count of providing false information to a police officer was dropped under the terms of the settlement agreement.

The most recent case was filed on Nov. 30 after officers were dispatched to Smith’s Food and Drug on Mall Drive on a report of a retail theft taking place inside of the store and arrived to learn from one of the managers that two women who were still inside of the store had been shoplifting, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.

The suspect, later identified as Sagendorf, was at self-checkout when she was confronted by officers, who advised her that she was seen placing merchandise in her purse by store employees, items she failed to pay for. Sagendorf told the officers she did have items inside of her purse, but instead of stealing the merchandise, she stated she was hiding them from the person she was shopping with because they were Christmas presents and she did not want the woman to see them.

She was later charged with third-degree felony theft, a charge that was enhanced from a misdemeanor due to the defendant’s extensive criminal history dating back more than a decade that includes multiple theft-related convictions.

The second case was filed in February 2020 following a report of a theft at Walmart located on South Pioneer Road where officers responded to learn that a woman, later identified as Sagendorf, was seen taking items off the shelves and concealing them inside of larger items. The reports states she was also placing discounted price tags on items that were not on sale so they would ring up for less.

A few days later she was charged with felony theft and a misdemeanor charge for providing false information to a peace officer when she initially identified herself using a false name at the store.

During the sentencing hearing the defendant was sentenced to serve 0-5 years in Utah State Prison on each case and the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

The transport order was signed during the hearing and the defendant’s commitment to prison was to begin immediately, according to the order signed by Judge Barnes last week.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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