By Tracie Sullivan, For Iron County Today
A southern Utah man is facing felony charges after investigators say he gave methamphetamine to a disabled woman while she was staying at a rehabilitation facility.
Samuel Scott Vest, 49, of Newcastle, was charged Wednesday in 5th District Court with aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, both second-degree felonies.
According to court documents filed in 5th District court, Vest took the woman — a stroke patient with limited mobility and cognitive function — off the property of Cedar Health and Rehab on Feb. 5. When she returned, a family member noticed during a video call that she seemed unusually tired. They requested a drug test.
Preliminary results came back positive for amphetamines and synthetic opioids within 20 hours. A follow-up test showed the woman had more than 1,000 nanograms per milliliter of methamphetamine in her system — ten times the level of a typical user, investigators said.
“The rehab facility informed me they do not administer any medications that would give any positive reading for illicit drugs,” a deputy with the Iron County Sheriff’s Office wrote in the statement.
Medical staff told investigators the woman has been in a wheelchair since suffering a stroke in December and is unable to care for herself.
“She was placed in the rehab’s memory care unit where patients are placed when their cognitive ability is too low to care for themselves,” the affidavit states.
Facility employees and family members told investigators that Vest was the woman’s only visitor. He frequently failed to follow required check-in and check-out procedures and had blocked the facility’s phone number, according to the court documents.
“Due to the totality of the circumstances with Samuel Vest being the only visitor and being a known methamphetamine user, there is reason to believe that Samuel Vest gave or administered methamphetamine to the victim,” the statement says.
Prosecutors are requesting that Vest be held without bail, citing his alleged actions and the victim’s inability to protect herself. The state argued that he poses a substantial danger to the victim and the community.