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Team CoverageBurglars smashed more car windows last night, only this time police officers were watching.
The cars were parked at a lot off 400 West and North Temple for last night's Jazz game at the EnergySolutions Arena. Now, five men have been arrested.
Last night, undercover officers were watching a lot where cars were broken into three nights ago. Their hunch paid off. But for the owners of the cars broken into, they're just hoping to get back what was stolen from them.
Nathan Perry left last night's Jazz game early because the Jazz were smashing the Suns. He just had no idea at the same time someone was doing the same thing to his car. "Looks like they broke this back window, and they unlocked it there, and then they looked down there, probably looking for an iPod in the glove box," he said.
Perry was one of five people who found their windows broken and items missing. He said the thieves also got away with a pair of fairly expensive sunglasses.
He filed a police report, like so many others have in the past few nights. A few hours later, undercover police officers captured the men they believe were breaking into all those cars.
Salt Lake City Police Lt. Rich Brede said, "We were fortunate enough to have officers in this area." They were watching the lot, and when they saw two men looking into cars and then breaking into one, they went after them.
The two men then took off in a van that a third man was driving. Eventually, police tracked the license plate of that van to an apartment complex near 200 South and Montgomery Street. There they found thousands of dollars worth of stolen property--including GPS systems, stereo equipment and MP3 players.
Salt Lake City Police Sgt. John Beener said, "Luck was in our favor and being able to be proactive, or having the ability to be proactive, is the greatest benefit."
Perry is still upset the thieves chose his car but is happy they're caught and happy he left other items home. He said, "It could've been much worse if I would've had my laptop and iPod."
Jose Serrato Hernandez, Virgil Vigil, Pedro Ortiz, Pedro Pena, and Miguel Perez have all been arrested and charged with numerous crimes including car burglary. Police believe all of them are responsible for the car break-in's from last night, as well as the more than 40 from three nights ago.
Police say with so many break-ins recently, you really need to know how to protect your car. "If he's going to take the risk of breaking into it, he's going to make sure there's something--purse on the seat, electronic items, a cell phone. Most people, when they have a GPS, they put a little suction device on to the windshield so they can see it easier. Those are some tell-tale signs that, hey, there's some valuables in the car," explained Salt Lake Police Lt. Gary Young.
Meanwhile, police say there was another car burglary last night near 900 South and LeGrande Street. Two suspects were booked, but police are not releasing their names.
