This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A convicted sex offender and prison parolee has been charged with stealing a school bus in Emery County and driving it around while allegedly trying to pick up children.
Patrick James Fredericksen — who is also listed as Frederickson and Fredrickson and Fredricksen in Utah court records — was charged in 7th District Court with first-degree felony attempted child kidnapping, two counts of second-degree felony theft, one count of third-degree felony theft and class B misdemeanor driving with a measurable amount of a controlled substance.
On Monday, Fredericksen was working for a landscaping company installing sod at a ball complex in Huntington when an employee at the complex called the sheriff's office to report a worker had left on foot with a set of master keys to the building, according to an Emery County Sheriff's Office news release.
While deputies searched the area, a funeral home employee noticed a suspicious person around their building and later found his vehicle was missing.
Later that afternoon, someone called about a suspicious man driving a school bus around Cleveland.
After a sheriff's officer stopped the bus, officers found that Fredericksen was "using a list he found in the bus containing names and directions [and] attempted to pick one child up at her home and was asking directions to a second child's home,"a according to the news release.
Fredericksen was on parole in August 2013 from the Utah State Prison for 2011 convictions in Price for theft, forgery and prescription forgery, according to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.
Fredericksen also is a registered sex offender based on a 2004 case in Emery County's 7th District Court, where he pleaded guilty to third-degree felony unlawful sexual activity with a minor.
In another case from 2006, Fredericksen was living in Salt Lake County when he pinned on a stolen badge and posed as a firefighter while lending a hand at emergencies.
Fredericksen, then 20, not only listened to a police scanner and raced to accident scenes, he also stole firefighting equipment and used his faked status to lease an apartment and open lines of credit, according to a Tribune story from the time .
He pleaded guilty in 3rd District Court to third-degree felony theft by receiving and class B misdemeanor officer impersonation, and was ordered to complete counseling during his 36-month probation period.
The Salt Lake County case triggered revocation of Fredericksen's plea in abeyance in the Emery County sex case.
Fredericksen had worked as a volunteer firefighter for the Huntington Fire Department in Emery County but was dismissed in 2003 for stealing clothing and equipment.
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