CEDAR CITY — Two people have been arrested and booked into Iron County Jail after allegedly listing for sale online a telescope and accessories that had been reported stolen from the National Park Service.
Stock image | Photo by Daniel Tadevosya/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News
Lindsay Elizabeth Belnap, 41, and Dylan Glenn Robinson, 31, were booked into jail on Dec. 7. Each faces a single count of theft by receiving stolen property valued at more than $5,000, a second-degree felony.
According to the probable cause affidavits filed in support of the pair’s arrests, a National Park Service law enforcement officer called an Iron County Sheriff’s deputy earlier in the day to report that various stolen items, including a 9.25-inch telescope, harmonic drive mount, tripod, extension tube, eyepieces and other related items had allegedly been listed for sale on Belnap’s eBay account.
“The notes written on the equipment in the eBay images have been verified as those stolen from the NPS,” the deputy wrote in the affidavit. “On Belnap’s account, an unidentified male is seen holding the items. According to the account, three of the items have been sold and may be currently packaged for shipment.”
The deputy subsequently made contact with both Belnap and Robinson at Belnap’s Cedar City residence and questioned them before placing them under arrest and taking them into custody. All of the reportedly stolen items, which had a total value exceeding $6,000, were found inside Belnap’s vehicle, the deputy wrote.
For illustrative purposes only, a Celestron NexStar Evolution Series 9.25-inch telescope is seen in a listing on eBay, Dec. 11, 2023 | Screenshot image from eBay, St. George News
Monday afternoon, Belnap made a brief initial court appearance via videoconference from jail before 5th District Judge Matthew L. Bell, who assigned public defender Franklin Katschke to be her attorney.
Belnap also had a drug court roll call hearing scheduled for Wednesday afternoon before Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen; she has been enrolled in drug court since entering a plea in abeyance in a drug possession case just over one year ago.
Meanwhile, Robinson’s next scheduled court appearance is a status of counsel hearing on Monday, Dec. 18, before Judge Bell.
This report is based on statements from court documents and law enforcement officials 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.
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