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WEST JORDAN — Two people suspected of going on an extensive vandalism spree last year, targeting churches and random cars, were each charged Friday with 56 counts of criminal mischief.
Shania Kaitlynn Page Carson, 21, of Bluffdale, was charged in 3rd District Court with 11 second-degree felonies, 15 third-degree felonies and 30 class A misdemeanors for vandalism in the south end of the valley dating back to August of 2017 that involved mostly rocks being thrown through churches and car windows.
Colby Dean Robertson, 19, is listed as a co-defendant.
That vandalism spree included rocks being thrown through the windows of at least 45 vehicles and through windows and glass doors of 11 meetinghouses of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often referred to as the Mormon church, in Sandy, Draper, Midvale, South Jordan and West Jordan.
Seven of those meetinghouses suffered a total of nearly $14,000 in damages on Sept. 1, 2017, including meetinghouses at 89 E. 11000 South, 8485 S. 1000 East, 9750 S. 2200 West, 8825 S. 1095 West, 9000 S. 1945 West, 465 W. Bristol Way and 9824 S. Flint Drive.
Four other meetinghouses suffered a total of about $8,000 in damage on Aug. 31, 2017, including churches at 7645 S. 3200 West, 8435 S. 2700 West, 8180 S. Old Bingham Highway and 7336 S. 3200 West.
The majority of all the vandalism cases occurred between Aug. 31, 2017, and Sept. 2, 2017.
On Sept. 9, a Unified police officer pulled over a car with Carson, Robertson and two juveniles and noticed a wastebasket full of rocks, baseball bats, a mallet and a sledgehammer, the charges state.
Carson admitted to police that the group specifically targeted Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, Midvale and Bluffdale and tried to throw rocks at older cars "because they didn't have alarms," as well as "big white vans," according to the charges.
