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TAYLORSVILLE — A man was arrested after he used his vehicle to enter and burglarize two businesses early Sunday morning, police say.
Around 2:21 a.m., police responded to an alarm at Guitar Center, located at 5728 Redwood Road, where the man had pulled the doors and a security gate off the building using a chain that he connected to his White Chevy Tahoe, according to Unified police Lt. Justin Hoyal.
The man was leaving the store carrying a number of guitars when he noticed an officer, dropped the guitars and got into his Tahoe, which he had left running, Hoyal said. When the officer told the man to exit his vehicle, the man reversed in the direction of the officer and nearly ran him over.
An officer arriving on the scene chased the man through the business complex north to 1900 West. As the pursuit continued toward 5400 South, the officer spun the man’s vehicle out and its engine died, Hoyal said.
Tyler Cook, 31, was taken into custody and later booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on burglary charges, trying to run over an officer and fleeing from police, according to Hoyal.
Officers at the scene of the burglary discovered Cook also allegedly drove through the doors of the General Army Navy Outdoor store at 4974 Redwood Rd. around 2:12 a.m. and stole knives and machetes, Hoyal said.
Police believe Cook may be responsible for other burglaries that have occurred in Salt Lake County.
“The other thing that we were able to link the suspect to was a burglary that happened in Taylorsville at the Xtreme Pawn back on Dec. 11,” Hoyal said.
West Valley police believe Cook also burglarized two businesses in their jurisdiction. The first was at EX Pawn, 3105 W. 3500 South, during which a window was broken to gain entrance. An officer recognized him on surveillance footage because they said he had gone into the shop earlier in the day in an attempt to pawn the items stolen from the Taylorsville pawn shop on Dec. 11.
The second location was Cash America Pawn, 7189 W. 3500 South, at 1:40 a.m. Sunday, where police say he used his vehicle to pull down a steel security door. According to West Valley police, Cook took items from both locations.
Contributing: Brianna Bodily and Whitney Evans
