By Tracie Sullivan, For Iron County Today
Three Southern Utah University basketball players were arrested Wednesday after allegedly stealing two refrigerators from campus earlier this month.
Hercy Miller, 24, Brock Felder, 20, and Peter Dadson, 25, have been accused of third-degree felony theft.
According to court records filed in 5th District Court, the charges stem from an incident on Nov. 11, when the men allegedly loaded two refrigerators from the loading dock of the SUU Bookstore into vehicles before driving away.
The refrigerators, each valued at approximately $1,500, were taken in what appeared to be a coordinated effort captured on campus security footage, the affidavit states. The footage reportedly showed the suspects using two vehicles to load the appliances.
SUU Police began investigating the theft after they received information about the alleged theft on Nov. 22.
Officers used parking records and the student directory to identify the vehicles and the individuals involved, leading them to the suspects’ shared apartment. Upon arrival, police said they saw one of the stolen refrigerators through the apartment’s front window.
“…one of the refrigerators was found inside the apartment and could be seen through the glass window of the front door while standing outside on the porch,” court records state.
Dadson and Miller both told police they had seen the refrigerators on the dock for “almost a month” and assumed they were being discarded. Dadson said he checked the appliances to confirm they worked and returned days later to take them, along with the other two suspects.
“He said that he believed they were being thrown away and that it was OK to take them,” the affidavit states.
Miller showed officers where the other refrigerator was and opened the garage to allow them to retrieve it.
The refrigerators had a combined value of $3,000.
Felder, when questioned, told police he had helped load the refrigerators but claimed the idea was not his.
“He admitted to helping load the refrigerators. He said that the idea was one of the other suspect’s and that he only helped load them,” the affidavit states.
The three men were arrested Nov. 27 and booked into the Iron County Jail.
Southern Utah University officials have not yet commented on the arrests or the status of the basketball players, who are part of the school’s Division I athletic program.