The Zion Times

By Sachet A. Sullivan | The Zion Times
A recently unsealed search warrant confirms that two 15-year-old juveniles were connected to a stolen firearm following a report of a gun on a local school campus. However, officials have refused to release the name of the school involved.

The warrant, previously sealed by court order, became publicly accessible in late May 2025.

According to the warrant, a school resource officer received a tip in November 2024 that a student may have brought a firearm to school. The student was located and questioned. No weapon was recovered at the time, and the juvenile reportedly told officers the gun was “just a BB gun.”

The day after the school tip, that juvenile and another minor were arrested in connection with an alleged aggravated robbery involving an 18-year-old male. According to investigators, the victim reported that one of the suspects pointed a handgun at him during the robbery while a second masked individual stood nearby holding what appeared to be a rifle.

One of the juveniles later admitted to involvement in the robbery, and police identified the weapon used as a Glock 48 9mm — the same firearm reportedly stolen in a Cedar City vehicle burglary on August 2, 2024, and confirmed as stolen in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.

According to court records, both juveniles were booked on felony charges of aggravated robbery and possession of a firearm by a minor.

That same day, officers served a search warrant at a residence connected to the case, seeking the weapon as part of the ongoing robbery investigation.

While executing the warrant, officers encountered 18-year-old Alexander Cruz, who reportedly admitted to taking the Glock from beneath one of the juvenile’s mattresses. Cruz reportedly told police he knew the firearm was stolen and had been keeping it for several days.

According to the probable cause affidavit, he was carrying the gun in his waistband at the time of his arrest. He was booked on multiple charges, including second-degree felony theft of a firearm, third-degree felony possession of a firearm by a restricted person, and a class A misdemeanor for possession of marijuana.

Officials with the Cedar City Police Department, the Iron County Attorney’s Office, and the Iron County School District refused to disclose the name of the school where the firearm incident occurred. However, records reviewed by The Zion Times list Officer Austin Troy Mikkelson as the arresting officer in Alexander Cruz’s case, and both CCPD and the County Attorney’s Office confirmed that Mikkelson was the assigned school resource officer at Canyon View Middle School at the time of the incident.

When asked whether Officer Mikkelson was serving as the school resource officer at the time of the incident, Cedar City Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Kirk Lovell stated, “Officer Mikkelson’s role as the arresting officer does not necessarily confirm that the incident occurred at Canyon View Middle School.”

The search warrant also authorized the seizure of multiple cell phones and a laptop belonging to Cruz and the two juveniles. Investigators requested access to communications, images, videos, GPS data, and other digital content related to the robbery, firearm possession, and controlled substances. It also referenced possible evidence of sexual exploitation of a minor, though no further details were disclosed in the unsealed documents.

Cruz later pleaded guilty to third-degree felony possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, as well as a class B misdemeanor for possession of a controlled substance. In March 2025, he was sentenced to serve 123 days in jail, placed on 36 months of supervised probation, and ordered to complete mental health and substance abuse treatment. The court also imposed a $5,000 fine, nearly all of which was suspended.

It remains unclear what charges, if any, the two juveniles ultimately faced in connection with the firearm or robbery incidents. Because juvenile court proceedings in Utah are confidential, outcomes—including adjudications or dispositions—are not available to the public.

The stolen Glock was recovered by police and cleared from the national database.