A Vernal man serving time in the Cache County Jail is facing new charges after allegedly starting a fire in the jail’s common area. According to charging documents, 26-year-old Joseph Isaac Moralez was charged on Monday with felony Aggravated Arson for placing broken graphite from a pencil into an electrical socket which he used to start paper on fire on May 17th. In a search later conducted of his cell, deputies found multiple objects that had been filed down to create sharp objects which he faces additional charges for. Moralez is serving time in Cache County Jail for a 2017 crime in which he and two others were caught on camera robbing a Vernal home. Their vehicle was spotted after pictures were posted to social media by the Sheriff’s Office and a high speed chase ensued. The chase ended in Colorado after their car crashed and Moralez’s partners in crime were caught and arrested. Moralez, however, ran from the scene and was not immediately found. Law enforcement did catch up with him about two weeks later and he was extradited back to Utah to face charges which eventually resulted in his time now spent in the Cache County Jail, where the new alleged crimes occurred.
