True Crime

| by Travis Uresk | June 11th, 2026 | Duchesne, Utah (6/4/26)—The Duchesne County Sheriff's Office received information from Roosevelt City Police Officer Arnold regarding 26-year-old inmate Trevor Eugene Phillips, who may have contacted a protected individual while incarcerated at the Duchesne County Jail, in an attempt to sway a Witness’s testimony. Deputy Bird, Deputy Ehrman, and Corporal Woodhouse conducted an investigation. They reviewed communication records, electronic

| by Travis Uresk | May 13th, 2026 | Duchesne, Utah (5/10/26)—At the Duchesne County Jail, 36-year-old Sean Davion Souza intentionally flooded the H-Block housing of the jail by tearing up jail-issued books and other paper materials and flushing them into the sewer system, causing the main sewer line to H-Block to become obstructed. After creating the blockage, Souza repeatedly flushed the toilet in his cell, causing sewage, urine, feces, and contaminated water to backflow th

| by Travis Uresk | April 8 th , 2026 | Roosevelt, Utah— Officer S. Cox with the RPD went to serve a temporary protective order and to arrest 32-year-old Anthony Tanner Small who threatened to break a woman's neck in a violent incident that occurred on March 30 th , 2026. The officer was also there to keep the peace while a female retrieved her personal property from the residence. Officer S. Cox arrived at the residence and found Anthony. While they spoke, Anthony stated he

| by Travis Uresk | April 6th, 2026 | What is the real reason why violent and sex offenders spend very little time in prison? Why are the prosecutors not pushing and fighting to close the revolving door of criminals coming and going through the court system over and over again? It does take more time and more paperwork for the DA's Office to push for more time for these criminals. Maybe that's the problem, it's too much work to protect the victims with more paperwork. I can't

| by Travis Uresk | April 5 th , 2026 | Vernal, Utah— On March 18 th , 2026, Animal Control Officer Moosmann received a complaint about an animal cruelty situation. The caller provided the officer with photos and explained the dogs' living situation. The photos showed a depiction of the inside of the house: "Living space appeared to be linoleum and carpet, linoleum appeared to be torn up and littered in feces and urine. Internal damage to the house could be observed, such as

| Travis Uresk | |August 31st, 2025 | Entitlement Is like being in a secret club that nobody wants to admit they're part of, yet it somehow keeps growing its membership. From boardrooms to bedrooms, childish behavior is popping up everywhere, leaving a trail of bewildered onlookers in its wake. The rise of social media has created a perfect storm for the growth of entitlement. Platforms designed to showcase life highlights create unrealistic expectations about what we should

| by Travis Uresk | 7/18/25 | | Vernal, Ut. | July 17 th , 2025 | On July 17, 2025, the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office received a Child Abuse and Neglect Report (CANR) regarding the sexual conduct of a minor. The suspect in this case was identified as 43-year-old Hadgi Donsha Robinson, and the victim a 17-year-old female. According to the CANR, the female reported she had been engaging in sexual activities with her moter's live in boyfriend Hadgi. She stated they had been wa

| by Travis Uresk | 7-11-25 | | Jensen, Ut. | July 9 th , 2025 | Deputy Fairey was conducting a follow-up investigation regarding a protective order violation in Jensen. The night before, a Vernal City Police Officer informed the deputy he encountered 64-year-old Brian Paul Fitzwater in Jensen while serving papers. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that Brian had an active protective order prohibiting him from being at that location. The petitioner was also prese

by Travis Uresk 6-28-25 | Naples, Ut. | June 27th, 2025 | At 11:30 pm, police were dispatched to a residence in Naples for an ambulance assist. Officer Ashman knocked on the front door, and while waiting for someone to answer, she could hear a banging noise coming from inside the home. A female answered the door and told the officer she was concerned about her son, 22-year-old Stetson Evans, and his behavior, and he possibly could be on meth or GHB . The officer asked where S

by Travis Uresk 6-27-25 | Vernal, Utah | June 26th, 2025 | Police were dispatched to 1820 W 1500 S on a report of a white substance that had been spread throughout the hallway of the building, and a sign had been posted claiming the substance was possibly Anthrax. All the residents of Daniels Crossing had to be evacuated from the building due to the threat of Anthrax poisoning. Law enforcement, along with fire department personnel certified in hazardous materials, responded a

by Travis Uresk 6-9-25 | Lapoint, Ut. | June 6th, 2025 | At 3:30 in the morning, Uintah County Deputies responded to a report of a possible homicide in the Lapoint-Tridell area. The caller, 45-year-old Antonio Martinez Tinsley, reported that his wife had been murdered and her body was in a ditch. Antonio told dispatch that he had not injured his wife and that he didn’t know who had done it. Antonio then provided dispatch with the name of the alleged assailant and claimed to h

by Travis Uresk 5-13-25 | Vernal, Ut. | May 13th, 2025 | At around 2:00 AM on Tuesday, Cpl McCurdy with the VPD was dispatched to the Valley Saloon. The report stated a customer threatened to pull a gun on another customer. The report continued other customers were now restraining the individual who had a firearm on him. Police arrived and detained the male who was identified by his Louisiana ID card as 23-year-old William Lee Cook. Involved parties indicated William had been

By Travis Uresk 4-25-25 | Duchesne, Ut. | April 15th, 2025 | On April 15th, 2025, at around 9:00 PM, the West Valley City Police Department received a call for service regarding 42-year-old Joshua David Boggess. Joshua's family told police that he had been acting unusual earlier in the day and reported that he had consumed alcohol while saying goodbye to his family by phone. Officers were informed that a child saw Joshua take a firearm and leave the residence. Joshua told his

By Travis Uresk 4-17-25 | Vernal, Ut. | April 16th, 2025 | Police were dispatched to a residence on a report of a possible domestic where a father said his daughter had sent him an emergency notification from her phone. The victims father then called his daughter and could hear an argument in the background that appeared to be escalating. The deputy arrived in the area and saw that the victim and her boyfriend, 51-year-old Darin C Galley, had left the home. The deputy tried t

By Travis Uresk 3/16/25 | Uintah Basin | March 16th, 2025 | The Uintah Basin experiences a range of violent crimes, including homicide, assault, and sexual assaults, but this area has seen a significant increase in drug-related crimes including the possession and distribution of Fentanyl. Below are crime statistics for the Uintah Basin from the Utah Department of Public Safety. https://bci.utah.gov/ Duchesne County Officers Injured Uintah County Officers Injured The data port

By Travis Uresk 2/20/25 | Vernal, Ut. | January 27th, 2025 – February 19th, 2025 | On 1/27/25, Sgt. Watt was assigned to a theft case involving a counterfeit $50 bill at the Maverik Convenience Store at 1740 West US-40. The complainant reported that a male came in and paid $50 for services. The complainant thought it might be fake and tried entering it into their money machine, but it wouldn’t accept it, leaving them to believe it was counterfeit. The officer met with the s

By Travis Uresk 2/17/25 The Crime Data Explorer (CDE) is a tool provided by the FBI that allows users to access and analyze crime statistics collected from various law enforcement agencies across the U.S. It includes data on different types of crime and is designed to improve transparency and public understanding of crime data. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program has collected and reported crime data from participating states and agencies for more than 88 years. O

By Travis Uresk 2/6/25 | Vernal, Ut. | February 4th, 2025 | Vernal City Police were dispatched to Davis Food and Drug at 575 West Main...

By Travis Uresk 1/27/25 | Vernal, Ut. | January 26th, 2025 | Early Sunday morning, officers were dispatched to the Gateway Saloon to a...

By Travis Uresk 1/9/25 | Naples, Ut. | January 4th, 2025 | While Officer McGaha was out on patrol, he received a call for a possible...