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OREM — A woman who knocked on strangers' doors claiming she needed to use the bathroom was arrested after being caught going through the homeowners' medicine cabinets.
Brianne Dangerfield, 24, of Orem, was arrested Monday for investigation of two counts of residential burglary. Detectives believe she may have also committed two car burglaries while walking from the first house to the second.
About 8:30 p.m. Monday, Dangerfield walked to a residence, 1248 N. 710 West, knocked on the door and asked to use the bathroom. She claimed she had a tubal pregnancy, according to police affidavit filed in 4th District Court.
Dangerfield's address in court records is listed as 1291 N. 725 West.
After she was in the bathroom for 10 minutes, the homeowner listened through the door and heard Dangerfield rummaging through the cabinets, the affidavit stated. The homeowner called police.
An officer arrived just as Dangerfield was walking out. The homeowner told the officer she had taken about $30 in change from his bathroom, according to the affidavit.
"Before I could say anything, Dangerfield said she did take the money but she would pay him back," the affidavit stated.
Dangerfield was cited and released at the scene.
About 30 minutes later, however, she walked to another house a couple of blocks away where a woman answered the door. Dangerfield again claimed she needed to use the bathroom.
"The woman claimed she was cold, she needed some help (and) she needed to use the bathroom. So the kindness gets to everybody. They want to let somebody in their home to use the bathroom. You just have to be careful," said Orem Police Lt. Craig Martinez.
The woman claimed she was cold, she needed some help (and) she needed to use the bathroom. So the kindness gets to everybody. They want to let somebody in their home to use the bathroom. You just have to be careful.
–Orem Police Lt. Craig Martinez
The woman's husband, however, is a sergeant with the Orem Police Department. He, too, heard her rummaging through his bathroom cabinets and opened the door, catching her in the act, Martinez said. The police sergeant handcuffed the woman and held her until other officers responded.
Money and other undisclosed property were found in Dangerfield's pockets, Martinez said. She claimed she had burglarized two unlocked vehicles on her way to the second house, he said. Investigators were working Tuesday to find the owners of those vehicles.
Martinez said no prescription medications were missing from either bathroom. He did not know if Dangerfield had robbed or attempted to enter any homes other than the two where she was caught.
Dangerfield told police she was stealing money to pay bills, but detectives had not verified that story as of Tuesday.
This isn't the first time police have dealt with Dangerfield. She already faces charges in two other cases filed in January.
On Thursday, she was charged in 4th District Court with falsely obtaining a prescription, a third-degree felony, and theft by receiving stolen property, a class B misdemeanor.
In that case, Dangerfield is accused of filling out a stolen blank prescription form for Xanax and forging a doctor's signature, according to court records. She picked up the order before doctors could determine it was a fraud, court records state.
On Jan. 16, she was charged with giving false information to a Lindon police officer, a class B misdemeanor.
In 2012, she was charged with trespassing, a class B misdemeanor, in Pleasant Grove Justice Court.
In a separate case in 2012, she was charged with intoxication and disorderly conduct, both class C misdemeanors. According to a Utah County Jail booking affidavit, Dangerfield was "highly intoxicated" and arrested for allegedly angrily yelling at neighbors after being asked to leave a home where she had been drinking with others.
"Brianne could barely maintain her balance while officers spoke with her," the affidavit stated.
She was taken to the Pleasant Grove Police Department and agreed to a Breathalyzer test after being there awhile, the report stated.
"She blew a .207 nearly two hours after being detained by police. She would continually bang her head and body up against the holding cell door," according to the affidavit.
