Hurricane fire chief charged after breaching Kanab city building, attempting access to employee’s computer, state says

SALT LAKE CITY — Hurricane Valley fire chief Joe Decker was charged in Kane County Justice Court after he allegedly trespassed inside a Kanab city building and attempted to access a computer inside it.

According to court documents, Decker, 46, was a former employee of Kanab city. Reporting by Southern Utah News and St. George News suggests Decker was the fire chief first for Kanab for 15 years, and for 10 of them, he also worked as Kanab’s city manager. He resigned from his city manager position in 2022.

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Decker’s former connection to Kanab’s premises is what provided him with a building code he somehow retained, court documents state. On Oct. 24, 2024, Decker used the code to “unlawfully” enter a locked city building.

“During evening hours he used the code to enter a locked city building and attempted to gain access to a current employee’s computer or email information,” court documents state.

Further, the computer belonged to an unnamed employee who didn’t have authorization to enter the building the way Decker did, the documents state.

The indictment did not provide a possible motive for Decker to access the computer, nor say what he might have been looking for. However, the evidence provided in the case was obtained by the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, the indictment states.

KSL TV made attempts to contact the Hurricane Valley Fire District to confirm he is still employed, but has not heard back. Although, the district’s staff directory still listed Decker as its chief as of Tuesday.

Decker is scheduled for arraignment in the case on March 4.

Follow the story at ksltv.com.