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SOUTH SALT LAKE — Two men police say were trying to steal high- end kitchen appliances were arrested late Wednesday, the second time in one week a South Salt Lake business has been the target of theft.
One man was found hiding in a ceiling and had to be pulled out, said South Salt Lake police detective Gary Keller.
Police were called to the Mountain Land Design Showroom at 2345 S. Main Street in South Salt Lake just before 11 p.m. when the store's alarm went off.
When officers arrived, they found two witnesses who were walking their dog in the area at the same time, who provided crucial information that resulted in the arrests of two men, Keller said.
Mitchell Lafferty 53, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of burglary, criminal mischief and a restricted person in possession of a weapon for having two knives in his pocket. The witnesses told police they thought there was a second person still in the building. Investigators brought a police K-9 into the building, who hit on an area that had cabinets that reached the ceiling.
That second man, Adam Morris, was found hiding in the rafters above the ceiling tiles, Keller said. Police worked for about 25 minutes to get Morris down, but he refused and officers were forced to grab him and pull him down, Keller said.
Once Morris was on the ground he continued to fight with officers. The police dog bit and held onto Morris's leg, and he stopped resisting arrest.
Morris, 28, was taken to the hospital to be treated for the dog bite, then was booked in the Salt Lake County Jail.
Lafferty was also charged with theft of services after investigators discovered his van nearby. He had taken the van to an auto shop for service and, later, allegedly broke to the auto yard and took his van without paying for the work that was done.
Mountain Land Design is a plumbing supply company that also sells sinks, tubs and kitchen appliances. A couple of stainless steel kitchen bowls and a large mixer were found discarded in bushes outside the business, Keller said.
Investigators believe one of the two men also stole a van and parked it near the showroom, possibly to transport stolen goods.
A number of high-end copper sinks were removed from the showroom and stacked up near the back door, said Dan Devenport, owner of Mountain Land Design.
"One of them is $1,500," Devenport said.
It was not immediately known whether the alleged burglars were looking for scrap metal to sell or items to pawn, but one week ago thieves tried to steal the copper rain gutters off the Mountain Land Design building.
After seeing an earlier version of this article, another local business owner, Geoff Howard, said he thinks the men are the same two who were caught by his surveillance cameras robbing his business not once, but twice.
"(I) Clicked on it, saw the mugshot and said 'Hey, that looks like the guy on our video!'" Howard said. He is the project manager for Peterson Filters Corporation, located just blocks away from Mountain Land Design.
Devenport says he's frustrated, but relieved at least two people will be held responsible for at least one of the crimes.
"We've spent a lot of money on the building trying to improve our image here in South Salt Lake," he said. "It's tough when we are fighting those kinds of battles."
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Story written with contributions from Shara Park, Pat Reavy and [Sarah Dallof](<mailto: sdallof@ksl.com>).
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