An employee at a Duchesne gas station tries breaking into a safe with an axe
- Travis Uresk
- Dec 9, 2024
- 3 min read
By Travis Uresk
12/9/24
| Duchesne, Ut. | December 5th, 2024 |
On Thursday, December 5th, at around 11:00 pm, Cpl. Nichols was dispatched to a burglary in progress at the Shell gas station. Dispatch advised that the complainant could see the suspect, who appeared to be an employee, attempting to break into a safe with an axe.
The officer was only a block away and arrived almost immediately after receiving the call.
When the officer arrived, he saw the employee inside the store behind the cash register. The door was locked, so Cpl. Nichols banged on the door. The subject ignored and kept rummaging around.
The officer banged on the door again; this time, he acknowledged the officer and unlocked the door.
Cpl. Nichols explained to 30-year-old Nathan Lance Tisdale, for the reason he was there.
They went inside the store where the officer noticed that the main safe had been pulled from under the counter, and had several dents on it. Some of the machinery and parts was torn out and destroyed, but the safe appeared to be unbreached.
Several wires were also pulled out from a nearby register, and cashier-related items were on the floor. Nearby was a hammer that Nathan admitted he also used to try to break open the safe.
Nathan stated he had been employed at the Fast Stop Shell Station for about five months and said the owner instructed him to break open the safe and be prepared to receive a new safe that would be arriving in about 45 minutes.
Nathan said he was suspicious about the call but said the man had his manager call and told him to do as the owner asked. Nathan showed the officer his call log, which showed that at 10:37 pm, he received a call from the manager.
The manager arrived and informed Cpl. Nichols that neither she nor the owner had instructed Nathan to break into the safe. She stated that no employees, not even the owner, have access to the safe. The safe is picked up by an armored truck company every week. She said this is common knowledge to the employees.
The manager saw the damage to the safe, and the nearby register was offline. She also showed the officer her call logs, which revealed she never called Nathan at 10:37 pm. She denied ever instructing Nathan to break into the safe or do as the owner requested.
The manager estimated the safe to be valued at approximately $5000 to replace.
In the probable cause report, Cpl. Nichols stated, "It did appear to me that Nathan had attempted to break into the safe in question. While it is possible that he was scammed, it was my opinion, as well as store management's opinion, that a reasonable person would know there is not a legitimate reason to break into the store's safe."
Nathan Tisdale was arrested and transported to the Duchesne County Jail, where he is being charged with theft with a value exceeding $5000, a second-degree felony, and criminal mischief with a value between $1500 and $4999, a third-degree felony.
Based on the affirmation of Cpl. Nichols, the arresting officer, the undersigned magistrate finds that probable cause existed for the arrest without a warrant of Nathan Lance Tisdale.
Nathan Lance Tisdale may post bail in the amount of $20,000.00
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