A Bountiful police investigation into four men already suspected in dozens of home burglaries has expanded dramatically, detectives told KSL.

In May, investigators said they believed the men were responsible for as many as 33 home burglaries.

Sgt. Troy Killian said Joe Hernandez, 51, sons Jeremy Hernandez, 31, and Isaac Hernandez, 26, as well as Thomas Blymiller, 25, have now been connected to 140 home burglary cases.

"We were just, 'wow!'" Killian exclaimed during an interview Tuesday. "I personally have not come across a case where we've been able to at least relate 140 cases to the same suspects."

The burglaries spanned from Orem to North Ogden and from West Jordan to Park City, according to detectives.

Police dubbed the men the "pillowcase bandits" because of the regular use of pillowcases in the burglaries to haul loot out of the homes.

Killian said the men often targeted affluent areas, and got away with as much as $100,000 in jewelry in a single heist.

Related Story

Police arrest 4 suspected in 33 burglaries

Four people suspected in a series of burglaries were arrested this week and an enormous trove of personal belongings were recovered from a hotel in Salt Lake City, police said.

"They were targeting the master bedrooms," Killian said. "They'd go in the master bedrooms, grab the jewelry, costume jewelry boxes, whatever and throw it all into the pillowcase. Get in and get out as quick as possible was their [modus operandi], then they'd come back out and sort that later, take the things of value, go hock them or trade them for drugs."

Killian said detectives believed the men were supporting drug habits.

Bountiful investigators, seeking to solve several home burglaries in May, circulated surveillance images of the then-unknown suspects and a minivan.

Police at the time said those images turned into leads and arrests and the discovery of a hoard of stolen property inside a Salt Lake City motel room.

Killian said identification and other items inside the motel room linked the men to the stolen items.

Though most of the high-value property had already been sold or traded, police made public the recovery of the rest of the stolen goods in hopes of returning them to their rightful owners.

Many items with sentimental value for the individual families remained, from costume jewelry to a child's teeth.

At the time, Lt. Dave Edwards said police had linked the men to as many as 33 home burglaries, but detectives believed there would be many more cases.

Killian said Tuesday the number of cases had grown considerably.

"We ended up having about 140 cases where the people came in and thought that they might be involved with the case due to the M.O. where they were using pillowcases and the way they were breaking into homes," Killian said.

Killian said the May arrests seemed to bring the spree to a halt.

"Talking with the other detectives in the different areas, these types of cases have stopped completely," Killian said. "I haven't heard of any other pillowcase burglars. I know we haven't had any since these gentlemen were arrested."

Police said they have been able to return, or are currently in the process of returning, 50 to 70 percent of the recovered stolen items.

"Oh yeah, that feels great," Killian said. "A lot of thankful victims came through — hugs, tears. It was a good experience as far as that part goes."

Killian said the men would likely face charges in various jurisdictions, though it was possible Bountiful investigators may reach out to the Utah Attorney General's Office to try to put a number of the cases together.

"I think we've been able to put a couple guys in jail that have been doing quite a bit of the activity in our neighborhoods," Killian said.

Victims

The heists took a significant toll on individual families.

In May, Ted and Sandy Tueller told KSL they had $40,000 in jewelry stolen from their house.

"I was sick to my stomach — I couldn't even eat," Sandy Tueller said at the time. "There was my original wedding ring and there were two tennis bracelets. One was my mom's."

The Tuellers said they had added security around their home as a result.

"[The burglars] have been very, very good at terrorizing the psyche of the people in our neighborhood," Ted Tueller said.

Wednesday, Pete Sefakis said his home was raided in late April while he was on vacation.

"It took probably about 9 or 10 hours before I noticed that anything was really missing after I had gotten home from my trip," he said. "But as I looked more and more around the house, I noticed that they had done a pretty thorough job. Books were moved a little bit from the book shelf, so I think even though they didn't mess things up, I think they had searched behind the books to see if I had hidden anything."

Sefakis said he eventually discovered his guns he used for hunting were gone, along with money, collectible silver dollars from the late 1800s and early 1900s, along with other valuables.

"You don't think it's going to happen to you, obviously," Sefakis said, who described his initial emotions of fear, then anger. "That feeling of being violated is not very pleasant."

Sefakis said Bountiful police recovered a couple of his watches, and his wife's high school ring.

After the heist, Sefakis said he installed an alarm system.

He recommended all families take pictures of their valuables and write down serial numbers.

Sefakis described the burglars' work as "smooth," and said he still wasn't completely certain of everything that was taken.

"I'm sure I'll find more as I go through and need something," he said.

Related topics