Southern Utah Man Arrested and Charged after Allegedly Damaging an ICE Transit Van

ST. GEORGE, Utah – A Southern Utah man accused of damaging government property, specifically a Department of Homeland Security Transit Van, appeared in court today.  The indictment charging Ryan Michael Gaines, 32, of Santa Clara, Utah, was unsealed on Tuesday.

According to court documents, in the morning of April 21, 2025, it was discovered that an ICE Transit Van had been damaged over the weekend at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO) office in St. George. The St. George Police Department was called and responding officers located surveillance footage that showed a light-colored Jeep pull into camera view in the ICE office parking lot. Shortly thereafter, an adult male wearing a black balaclava and ski goggles activated a motion sensor and was caught on surveillance camera. The suspect then approached the ICE Transit Van and ripped pieces from the passenger side mirror. The same type of damage was made on the driver’s side mirror. City-wide surveillance captured a matching Jeep – owned by and registered to Gaines at a Santa Clara address – in the area just a few minutes before and then after the incident.

As alleged in court documents, the same day as the discovery of the damage, officers contacted Gaines near his place of employment and arrested him for the incident. Officers found Gaines’ Jeep at his residence and were able to match it with the Jeep seen in the surveillance footage. Also at Gaines’ residence, officers located a pair of ski goggles and a balaclava that matched the ones worn by the individual that committed the damage to the ICE Transit Van. The estimated cost to fix the damage is over $2,900.  

Gaines’ initial appearance on the indictment took place before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the courthouse located at 206 West Tabernacle Street, St. George, Utah 84470.

The case is being investigated jointly by the St. George Police Department and the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, St. George Resident Agency.

Assistant United States Attorney Brady Wilson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.