Police Log: DUI, retail theft

Photo: Photo courtesy of Summit County

Friday, December 16

Fraud

A woman hired a design company. The woman sent the company a check for $4,865 for the project. The company arranged for the work to be done and hired the appropriate contractors. On December 15, 2022, the customer asked the company to reschedule for January 2023. The business owner became suspicious of the situation and discovered the check the customer initially sent had been charged back, and the money was no longer in her business account. The business owner lost an additional $2,823.95 for the Venmo transactions she used to pay the contractors. This case will be forwarded to investigations for follow-up.

DUI

Deputies responded to an injury accident reported on Wasatch Frontage Road regarding a vehicle hitting a power pole. Deputies arrived on the scene and did not find the vehicle at the scene of the crash. The vehicle was later located several miles down the road. The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, a 63-year-old West Jordan man, completed a field sobriety test on which he performed poorly. The male was subsequently arrested and transported to a medical facility. Due to medical reasons, the male was cited for DUI and released at the hospital.

Warrant Arrest

A 56-year-old Park City woman was contacted for sleeping in the Transit Center after hours. A records check revealed an active felony warrant for Receive or Transfer Stolen Vehicle from 3^rd District Summit County. The woman was arrested and booked into SCSO.

Saturday, December 17

Theft

Deputies responded to a report of theft at Best Buy in Kimball Junction. An employee of the store advised two females had taken merchandise and fled the location on foot. Deputies immediately arrived on the scene and obtained video footage of the suspects, and descriptions were given to other responding deputies. After observing the suspects entering a dark-colored minivan with no plates and driving towards Redstone, the vehicle was later located in front of TJ Maxx, where deputies conducted surveillance on the car from a distance. One of the females was situated outside of TJ Maxx and taken into custody. It was later discovered that the 42-year-old Salt Lake City woman was a wanted person out of Ohio and had a local arrest warrant for retail theft. The second female, a 36-year-old Oregon woman, was inside TJ Maxx wearing different clothing than she had been wearing during the initial theft and was taken into custody. A search warrant was obtained for the suspect’s vehicle.

The search yielded large amounts of retail merchandise with tags and no receipts. Some merchandise had stickers linking the merchandise to stores in the Redstone area. During the interview of one of the suspects, she accidentally admitted to stealing items found in the vehicle. Based on the search, it appears the females are taking merchandise without paying and returning it to the store for store credit. The seized merchandise was from Home Goods, TJ Maxx, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The investigating deputy will conduct further follow-up with these stores during business hours.

Sunday, December 18

Vehicle Burglary

From 8 p.m. to approximately 10 p.m., unknown suspects entered an unlocked vehicle and stole a purse containing credit cards, keys, and a driver’s license. The suspects then went to Walmart and purchased four pre-paid credit cards for over $400, utilizing the stolen credit cards. Some pictures of the suspects were obtained from Walmart, but they could not provide any receipts of the transaction or video surveillance until a later date. The case is still under investigation.