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SALT LAKE CITY — A man and woman were arrested and booked in the Salt Lake County Jail, accused of stealing thousands of dollars in electronics in a spree that stretched across the U.S.
Jack Ewing, 33, and Christina Dold, 27, were suspected of stealing calculators and other electronics equipment from Walmart stores in Carson City and Elko, Nev., as well as in Tooele, Park City, Harrisville and Ogden, according to a probable cause statement. Police said in the document that the couple sent multiple shipments of stolen calculators to New York and Connecticut.
"They'll get some charges out of this," Det. Veronica Montoya said. "Felony charges."
The couple, according to the police statement, exhibited a "pattern of illegal activity" while taking part in a "continuing criminal enterprise."
Montoya said Thursday the couple was arrested in Ogden on Aug. 13 for the theft of $1,500 in calculators. That prompted a call from detectives to the Rodeway Inn in Salt Lake City where the couple was staying, at the corner of 600 South and 200 West.
An official at the hotel said workers entered the couple's room and saw numerous new calculators.
I'd say it happens often. A lot of times people aren't tracking their serial numbers, they're not taking pictures of their stolen property.
–Det. Veronica Montoya
"It was high-end electronic equipment and it was brand new in the package," Montoya said.
Police executed a search warrant and recovered $15,000 in calculators, the probable cause statement said.
Montoya said the couple was ultimately freed from custody in Ogden, and returned to Salt Lake City Police headquarters to try to reclaim the stolen calculators as their own property. However, detectives had continued investigating the couple and the calculators, and made an arrest when they returned.
"I'd say it happens often," Montoya said. "A lot of times people aren't tracking their serial numbers, they're not taking pictures of their stolen property."
This time however, Montoya said Walmart loss prevention officers had been in regular contact with police through the Utah Organized Retail Crime Association (UTORCA) online network.
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Four Syracuse High School teens are in big trouble after a wild crime spree through four cities and two counties."They compare notes, show video, give information of how the theft is being done," Montoya said.
Montoya said police were able to match the serial numbers on the calculators with ones that were stolen from Walmart.
Police said the case shows the importance of recording identifying characteristics of valuables.
"There's a lot of times where we feel that this property doesn't belong to [the people who claim it] because they don't have proof, but we also don't have proof that it's not," Montoya said.
Detectives said Ewing and Dold were in possession of cocaine and methamphetamine along with scales, packaging and drug paraphernalia.
Montoya said the investigation of the couple's activities in Utah and other states will continue.
