Suspicious person report leads to arrest of alleged purse snatcher in St. George

Composite image with background image by Sheila Paras and overlay image by Caravan Images, both iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A purse snatching incident reported at Walmart in Washington City was allegedly solved following a foot pursuit with police in St. George that ended with the arrest of the suspect and his girlfriend.

Map of theater parking lot that two suspects ran through during foot pursuit with police, St. George, Utah | Image courtesy of Google Maps, St. George News

The incident began with a suspicious person call on Sunday when officers were dispatched to a church on Red Cliffs Drive shortly before 8:30 p.m. involving a man who was behind the church.

Officers arrived to find the suspect, 24-year-old Jacob Darwin Jensen, whom officers knew from previous incidents, standing behind a shed to the rear of the church. Officers also found a woman, whom officers also knew from prior calls as Mekinna Sokolowski, 22, who was with Jensen.

As soon as the pair spotted police they started walking in the opposite direction, according to  charging documents filed with 5th District Court.

When the officer called out their names, the couple started running east and both jumped the fence and continued through the parking lot of a nearby movie theater, which is when more officers were dispatched to circulate the area, the report states.

In the meantime, a records check was run on each of the suspects, which is when officers learned that Jensen was wanted for questioning in an incident involving a stolen purse that was reported at the Walmart in Washington City earlier that same day, as well as several active warrants for his arrest that were still outstanding.

Minutes later, Sokolowski was captured and detained by police, and Jensen was spotted in the backyard of a residence. When officers confronted Jensen in the backyard, police say he started running. Officers ran to the front of the home where the resident ushered them inside so they could use the backdoor.

Authorities entered the backyard where they found the suspect who was ordered to the ground and detained.

Jensen was arrested on charges of criminal trespass for being in the backyard of a residence without permission, failing to stop of the command of an officer, as well as seven outstanding warrants.

When officers in Washington City got wind of the arrest, they responded to the scene in St. George where they found Jensen sitting in the back of a patrol vehicle.

Officers confronted Jensen regarding the purse theft and showed him several still photos captured by Walmart’s surveillance system that showed the purse being taken from a shopping cart hours earlier.

The officer also noted that Jensen was wearing a pair of shoes that was an exact match to those worn by the suspect in the purse theft, as well as his clothing, hair and tattoos that matched the man seen in the still shots.

2016 file photo of Washington City Walmart, April 24, 2016 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

When asked, Jensen allegedly admitted to it being him in the photos. The report says Jensen also told the officer that he was struggling financially and did not have enough money to make it to Salt Lake City to start his life over.

In relation to the incident at Walmart, Jensen reportedly said after leaving Walmart, he and Sokolowski went to a pizza restaurant on North 300 West to get something to eat, and he either used cash taken from the purse or one of the credit cards found inside of the wallet. He said he was unsure if either he or Sokolowski had used the credit cards taken from the purse at any other retailers, but officers obtained records revealing the financial cards had been used at three separate retailers following the purchase at the pizza restaurant.

The suspect also said as he was going through the purse he began to feel guilty when he found a religious recommend card inside, so he decided to take the purse to Nisson Park, where he leaned the purse up against a tree in hopes it would be found and returned to its owner, according to the report.

Shortly after being booked into jail, additional charges against Jensen were submitted for review on the Washington City Walmart incident, including two third-degree felony counts of unlawful acquisition of a financial card and misdemeanor theft.

When officers spoke to Sokolowski, who was still being detained by police in St. George regarding the Walmart incident, she immediately asked for an attorney and all questioning ceased. She was transported to jail on a felony charge of failing to stop at the command of police and a misdemeanor trespass charge.

No charges have been filed against Sokolowski regarding the incident at Walmart following her arrest in St. George.

Ed. Note: A new Utah law generally prohibits the release of arrest booking photos until after a conviction is obtained. 

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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