ST. GEORGE — The fate of a Hurricane man accused of failing to register as a sex offender and assault was decided — in large part by an extensive criminal history with dozens of cases for crimes he committed out of state — during a sentencing hearing last week.
Nathan David Karnes, 36, appeared in 5th District Court Dec. 14 for sentencing on third-degree felony count of failing to register as a sex offender and misdemeanor assault — charges the defendant pleaded no contest to on Oct. 12. A third felony charge of unlawful acquisition of a financial card was dismissed in exchange for the defendant’s plea.
During the October plea hearing, Karnes signed a statement in support of the plea wherein he admitted to hitting his partner in the face during the altercation, and it was also noted that his failure to register as a sex offender was determined by law enforcement.
The family fight that led to the arrest
The charges stem from a Sept. 25 arrest when Hurricane Police officers were dispatched to a family fight in progress. After speaking with the parties, officers arrested Karnes on a simple assault charge, according to charging documents filed at the time of the arrest.
Booking photo of Nathan David Karnes, 36, of Hurricane, who was arrested during a family altercation in Washington County, Utah, Sept. 25, 2023 | Booking photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News
Officers then learned through a background check that Karnes was a registered sex offender who was noncompliant out of California, where the defendant also had an active warrant for his arrest on a parole violation.
When questioned, the suspect told officers “he was on the run for the warrant and that is why he has not complied with his sex offender registration,” the officer noted in the report.
Deputies found in the suspect’s wallet a debit card that did not belong to Karnes, who reportedly said he was “not sure how he obtained it.”
He then told deputies he believed his brother had given him the card to put gas in his vehicle before he left California, and the card may have belonged to an associate of his brother.
Formal charges were filed following his arrest and Karnes has remained in jail in Washington County on a no bail hold.
The case filed in Bakersfield, California
The case that resulted in the sex offender registry requirement was filed in Kern County in 2007 based on four charges, including two felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, as well as one felony count of unlawful intercourse and one misdemeanor count of annoy-molest children. The defendant was convicted of the two latter charges, while the lewd charges were dismissed.
Kern County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle, Bakersfield, Calif., March 15, 2019 | Photo courtesy of the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News
He was sentenced to serve one year and four months in prison but was released for good behavior after serving a little more than 270 days in custody and he was placed on three years’ probation.
From there, Karnes picked up 39 more cases, a majority of which were for parole and sex offender registry violations, in addition to myriad other charges connected to drug possession, weapons, theft and other crimes for which Karnes spent multiple terms in jail every year since his release in 2008.
Dozens of the cases are directly related to failing to register as a sex offender, including several of the violations listed as “failure to register with two or more priors” in the court docket. The defendant’s status is listed as “violation” on the California Sex Offender Registry and has yet to be listed on the Utah Sex Offender Registry, at the time of this report.
The most recent case was filed in October 2022 and is still open in the courts, which was likely the case that prompted the warrant that officers in St. George found during the arrest in September.
Sending a message
During the hearing Dec. 14, the defendant’s criminal background was the primary issue addressed by prosecutor Philip Soelberg, who said the state’s position was that Karnes’s history of failing to register as a sex offender, with “many, many” cases in California, in addition to the cases he picked up in Washington County, underscores the importance a prison sentence in this case.
Soelberg said that while Karnes has cited his drug use and other issues as the reasons he has consistently failed to register, the fact is, “He’s not getting the message that failing to register is a serious offense.”
In fact, Soelberg said, the defendant knows he is required to do so, which speaks to Karnes’ “blatant disregard” for the law, after failing to comply “over and over again.”
Karnes’ defense attorney Michael Lastowski countered by saying his client left California because authorities there “kept sending him back to prison,” and his client wanted to get away from the bad influences in his home state. He came to Utah to start a new life. Since then, the attorney said his client’s only crimes have involved failure to update the sex offender registry.
When Soelberg mentioned the defendant’s extensive criminal history in his home state, Lastowski said, “I can’t argue with that,” and said his client did not update the sex offender registry once he moved to Utah because it would have alerted authorities in California to his whereabouts.
File photo of prosecutor Philip Soelberg appearing for a hearing held in 5th District Court in St. George, Utah, Nov. 16, 2023 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News
The defense attorney closed by saying his client’s history showed that prison hasn’t helped him and asked that his client be placed on supervision, which would allow him to get the help he needs.
Soelberg countered by saying that a prison sentence would not only act as a deterrent for the defendant, who the prosecutor said also entered a plea on the assault charge but would also send a message that these crimes will not be tolerated in Utah.
District Judge John J. Walton addressed the defendant by saying, “I’d like to make you California’s problem, but I just don’t see a viable way to do that.”
The added that the defendant’s “terrible” criminal history and noncompliance with parole and probation had left the court with only one option to ensure that the public is protected. Then he sentenced Karnes to serve 0-5 years in Utah State Prison on the felony charge, with another 180 days in jail on the misdemeanor.
The transport order to Utah State Prison was signed at the close of the hearing. Karnes is still in custody in Washington County, where he has remained since his arrest on Sept. 25, and is awaiting transport to prison at the writing of this report.
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.
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