String of car burglaries rampant through Summit County on Friday as 14 vehicles broken into

The x's in the image show the string of car burglaries/thefts in a 24-hour period on March 18 and 19. Photo: Google Maps

PARK CITY, Utah — Seven vehicle burglaries and two vehicle thefts were reported on Friday, resulting in 14 total vehicles having been broken into in addition to the two stolen.

The seven burglaries were reported from three separate locations. The first of which took place near Jeremy Ranch Golf and Country Club with three complaints coming from Homestead Rd, Upper Lando Ln, and Jeremy Cr. While only one of the burglaries had a reported suspect, 23-year-old and convicted-felon Anthony Ortega, who was arrested later that day, was linked to the theft on Jeremy Cir.

Following the burglaries near the country club, two complaints surfaced from Aspen Dr, one of which was also connected to Ortega, who supposedly broke into a truck and stole multiple items. However, those items were located and returned to the owner.

In addition to one final set of four car burglaries near W Mallard Cr, two vehicles were stolen on Friday.

Bell’s Sinclair called in and stated there was a trailer on their property they wanted to have checked. Deputies arrived and found the plate on the trailer was stolen, the trailer itself was stolen, and the vehicle used to tow the trailer also had a stolen plate. The trailer was recovered along with the plate on the trailer. The vehicle with the stolen plate is still outstanding. The vehicle is a 2008-2015 Chevy white in color with a stolen license plate and a red emblem on the tailgate.

A vehicle theft occurred near N Bufflehead Dr. The complainant stated that an unknown individual stole her brother-in-law’s truck after rummaging through two other vehicles in their driveway. The vehicle keys and two PLS Lasers were missing from one of the vehicles. The stolen vehicle was listed on NCIC, and the missing items were added into property.

As for now, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office has only confirmed Ortega to three of the burglaries, with a fourth likely. However, given the radius and the similar pattern in which they occurred, it’s possible he could be linked to more later on.

Investigations will follow up on the remaining cases.