Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Brooke Walker Reporting"It kind of surprised us because we didn't know how wide this thing went."
Hundreds of calls and dozens of claims after a weekend arrest cracks cases from Logan to Provo. When police first arrested Michael Selin, they knew they had solved a rash of burglaries in Bountiful; what they didn't know was this guy took his crime on the road.
Bountiful police knew this was a big bust. They collected hundreds of items last Friday from the suspect's car. But they had no idea how far-reaching the find really was. In the last few days, they have received calls from all over the state -- even one from St. George. The good news is, many of those callers hang up happy.
Merilyn Hammond is among the lucky. When neighbors told her Bountiful police had recovered a slew of stolen goods, she thought just maybe this was her day. And it was; Hammond found several pieces of jewelry that were stolen back in December when someone broke into her Bountiful home.
Merilyn Hammond: "I'm just amazed. More than anything, I'm relieved that they caught the person and that the person is not out there ready to come in my house again."
Lt. Steve Gray, Bountiful Police Dept.: "We estimate that probably what happened is the suspect was driving in the area, saw the people actually leave and the suspect just pulled up in the street and in the house, because they were back within the hour and the house was burglarized."
Police have been able to identify owners for about 20-percent of the collected items. That includes a lot of jewelry, some cameras and a couple of cell phones, but also random things like funeral programs, used shoes and a dog bone.
Police believe the suspect, Michael Selin, may have committed these crimes just for the thrill of it.
Authorities are still hoping to find the owners of the remaining items. Beginning tomorrow, they will have a web site where you can view all of the recovered goods. If you recognize any of it, or if you have been burglarized in the last few months, you should contact Bountiful Police.
