By STEVEN HALL
The investigation is continuing in a trespassing incident involving 30 teenagers apprehended by shotgun-wielding security guards at the former St. Anne’s Retreat in Logan Friday.
According to Cache County Sheriff Lynn Nelson, three men acting as night watchmen and wielding shotguns surprised the teenagers as they crossed a bridge leading to the privately-owned camping area.
John Jeppson, a hired maintenance worker from Pocatello, Idaho, along with two unidentified men from Tooele County, led the teenagers to an empty outdoor swimming pool and kept them tied together with ropes around their necks until police arrived, Nelson said.
Nelson also said one teenage boy was allegedly hit in the head by the butt of a shotgun and kicked in the stomach.
Logan Regional Hospital Public Relations spokesperson Debbie Lewis confirmed that a boy was treated for matching injuries and released, but would not release his name.
A girl reported that the guards fondled her breasts while frisking her.
Investigators took statements from the teenagers and interviewed the three men Sunday.
Although all three men were armed, Nelson said their legitimacy as hired guards is questionable.
“Our impression is that they were not hired to be guards,” Nelson said. “We know that Jeppson was a hired maintenance worker, but right now we don’t know exactly why the other two men were there, or why they (all) had shotguns.”
“Although we didn’t arrest them, we know who they are and where they live. They aren’t going anywhere,” Nelson said.
Complete Security Inc. operations manager Ruth Alex said an important issue is whether the guards were hired by the property owner or by a contract security company.
According to Alex, licensed security guards must complete training, be fingerprinted and pass an FBI background check. Also if a candidate has ever been convicted of a crime he or she will be refused.
Security companies train their employees to approach trespassers and offer to help them. Next they remind trespassers of the law and also of the potential liability to both the trespasser and the property owner, Alex said.
“Under no circumstances do we chase down trespassers,” Alex said. “We can detain them under their own free will, but we always do it peacefully. The security officer is there to report and detain — they do not carry a weapon.”
Alex said the rules for a privately hired security guard are different.
“Anyone hired through a contract security company has to be licensed”, Alex said. “However there are no regulations for an in-house security guard. But if security is in-house, the liability lies 100 percent with the person who hires the security. If the guard makes a mistake, both the guard and the property owner are liable.”
Although in-house security has no regulation, under Utah law, Nelson said owners can take reasonable steps to protect their personal property.
“The question here is what is reasonable,” Nelson said. “If these allegations are true, it may be potentially felonious. This is a serious investigation.”
Built in the 1930s, St. Anne’s Retreat was originally owned by the Catholic Church until it was sold to a group of owners from California. Since then, the retreat has fallen into disrepair and is a common site for vandalism. This incident is the fourth or fifth occurrence or vandalism this year, Nelson said.
