A man who was the victim of a violent December 2015 home invasion was arrested last week and now faces a first-degree felony charge of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance – methamphetamine.
Sean “Randall” Gaines, 22, has also been charged with class A misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Both charges are enhanced because prosecutors allege that Gaines possessed methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in a drug-free zone.
Under the law, Gaines is presumed to be innocent unless or until a court convicts him of any charges.
The arresting Moab City Police officer was on bike patrol on Friday, April 28, along the Mill Creek footpath that runs between 300 South and 100 East when he allegedly smelled marijuana. The officer stopped and talked to a man who has since been identified as Gaines, who was sitting on a bicycle behind a local motel.
The officer allegedly noticed that Gaines had what appeared to be a fresh needle prick in his left arm, and he asked Gaines if he had anything illegal in the backpack he was wearing. Gaines said that he did not, but because of his probation status, the officer asked him to hand it over so he could search it. At that time, Gaines allegedly took off the backpack and started going through it.
According to a police report, the arresting officer allegedly found syringes in Gaines’ backpack, along with a small digital scale and a small metal box containing several small clear plastic baggies with a white crystal substance, which allegedly tested positive for methamphetamine. The officer also allegedly found a small spoon with residue on it, and more empty plastic baggies.
The officer alleged that Gaines also reached into his pocket and pulled out a glass pipe commonly used to smoke methamphetamine.
Gaines was severely injured in late 2015, when four men broke into his home at the time on Wingate Avenue and beat him violently under captivity, demanding to know where his girlfriend’s brother was.
All four men later pleaded guilty to reduced charges stemming from the assault.
At the time of their sentencing hearings, attorneys for both sides implied that people in Gaines’ social circle may have been involved in illicit activities.
“We never really got a clear idea from the police reports,” Grand County Attorney Andrew Fitzgerald said in March 2016. “But through a little more investigation and talking to various people, we think it’s a situation where perhaps somebody’s drugs went missing, and these four individuals were upset about it and went and did something about it when they were intoxicated.”
