Pogue was charged with 17 second- and third-degree felonies related to theft, burglary and possession of a weapon by a restricted person. He also faces one misdemeanor count of theft, according to documents filed July 13 in 7th District Court in Monticello. He remains in San Juan County jail and is scheduled to appear in court for arraignment on Aug. 6.
Pogue, was convicted in Emery County in 2009 for a series of thefts and burglaries at campsites near the Chimney Rock area, according to court documents. He was also suspected in the theft of an ATV in Sanpete County in early June, Torgerson said. San Juan deputies later found the stolen ATV submerged in Dark Canyon Lake, tipping them off that Pogue might be in the area, he said.
“[The] Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office said Pogue was their suspect in the theft of the four-wheeler, so when we found it we thought he might be involved in these break-ins here, too,” Torgerson said.
At the time of Pogue’s arrest, San Juan deputies were stationed “undercover” in areas throughout the La Sals, and Grand County deputies were also stationed in the area, Torgerson said. Nyland, who had been told deputies were looking for the truck, was driving in the La Sals with his grandson. He spotted the stolen white pickup truck and saw the 2007 Yamaha Rhino that had been stolen from his cabin in the bed of the truck, Torgerson said.
“Nyland saw him on the San Juan side of the La Sals and followed him to an area where he could call dispatch,” Torgerson said. “Deputies stopped him in the Taylor Flats area. He’d been camping and moving around to different places, moving to where water was available.”
Torgerson said Pogue had “dumped” a variety of stolen items, including a motorcycle that had been stolen from a Moab home in June, and it appeared Pogue had packed up the rest of his belongings and was preparing to leave the area.
“[Nyland] helped us a lot. We got lucky he spotted him when he did,” Torgerson said.
At the time of his arrest, Pogue was also allegedly in the possession of six stolen firearms, including rifles and handguns, as well as a variety of other items that had been reported missing from cabins in the La Sals and on Wray Mesa, and from homes in Old La Sal and Moab.
Rob McPherson of Moab told The Times-Independent on Monday that he had not expected to see his stolen motorcycle again.
“I was surprised when [Grand County] deputies called to say they’d found it,” McPherson said. “But I’m glad to have it back.”