Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
DRAPER — Police have arrested two men connected to car burglaries in Draper and West Jordan after one of the men used a credit card reported stolen from one of the vehicles.
Draper City Police Department arrested Joshua Isham and Axel Garcia, both 20, Sunday and booked them on seven counts of burglary, theft of a firearm and possession of stolen credit cards.
The West Jordan men were identified by a surveillance tape from the Maverik convenience store on 11400 South and 700 East that they patronized early Friday morning. According to police, the video showed a man who appeared to be Isham buying two packages of cigarettes and trying to pay with three separate credit cards, which were all declined. It then shows him turn to his friend, Garcia who gave the clerk a card that was approved.
One of the credit cards belonged to a victim of the car burglaries, and was set up to notify the owner of any activity outside of a certain parameter. He alerted police of the activity at the Maverik store, which lead them to the surveillance video.
Acting on a tip, police identified the men in the video as Isham and Garcia, from West Jordan. Officers obtained search warrants and found a slew of phones, iPods, cameras and other stolen items in the men's home and in Garcia's car.
The addiction takes over the individual, and by whatever means they have to support their habit, they will continue doing it.
–- Sgt. Kurt Imig, Draper Police
They also found a police badge, which was taken from a Salt Lake City Police Officer's car. Police discovered the men traded two stolen guns for drugs, and believe that drugs were the motivation behind the crimes.
"The addiction takes over the individual, and by whatever means they have to support their habit, they will continue doing it," said Draper Police Department Sgt. Kurt Imig.
The video also showed Isham steal a third package of cigarettes from the store. After buying the two packages, he places one in his pocket and convinces the clerk it was gone. After they look for the missing pack, the clerk gave him a replacement.
The arrests came as good news to people in a Draper neighborhood near 900 East and 13500 South, where more than a dozen the burglaries were committed over Thursday night and Friday morning.
Kurt Reintjes, one of the victims of the burglaries, was glad to see the men caught.
"It's always a sense of violation but more of a senseless type of thing where they'll take $1.50 and break a $300 window," Reintjes said. "It affects people."
Garcia and Isham have outstanding warrants for their arrests. Police say the men have been breaking into cars for awhile, and could be tied to other car burglaries around the valley.
