Woman has purse, car stolen while visiting cemetery


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WEST JORDAN &mash; A grieving woman had her purse, keys and identification stolen out of a truck at a West Jordan cemetery, and then the crooks promptly went to her house in Taylorsville and stole her car.

"I can't imagine anything lower," said Laurie Bartunek. "We're still trying to get our lives stable from losing my son. Yeah. So it was just rock bottom."

Bartunek went to Redwood Memorial Mortuary and Cemetery Sunday with her living son to visit the resting place of her son who passed away 3 months ago.

There at the gravesite for a matter of minutes, they were surprised when they returned to the son's truck and found the door open. Her purse and all her belongings inside were missing.

In the time it took for Bartunek to call police, report the crime and drive home — about 30 minutes — her car was also missing outside her house.

"I just feel like everything's been turned upside down all over again," Bartunek said.

West Jordan Police Sgt. Dan Roberts said burglars purposefully choose places like cemeteries and churches.

"The bad guys don't give us a break," Roberts said. "These criminals and thieves will target us in any moment they can gain an advantage."

Often, Roberts explained, that means choosing places where people will be distracted for minutes to hours.


The stolen car is a blue 2010 Hyundai Elantra with Utah license plate number B65 1NA. Anybody with information is asked to call West Jordan Police at 801-840-4000.

It's becoming increasingly common, too, he said, for the burglars to double-dip, raiding a car and then going to the victim's home to find more loot.

Davis County Sheriff's Sgt. Susan Poulsen was offering the same warning Tuesday over an encounter in Fruit Heights.

Poulsen said a man wrecked his car and it was burglarized at the tow yard. His garage door opener and registration disappeared. Days later, she said, the man was in his garage when the garage door went up.

A car was slowly passing and the occupants were looking inside the garage, Poulsen said. When the occupants spotted the homeowner, they drove away.

Poulsen cautioned drivers to lock their cars, hide valuable items and take their garage door openers with them — equating the situation to the possibility of handing over keys and a home's address to a stranger.

"These items do need to be protected because what they'll do is they'll not only lead someone with intent to commit crime directly to your address, but basically give them the keys to get inside your house," she said.

Bartunek said she hoped people learn to be wary after reading her story.

"Look at your surroundings &mdahs; but even looking at surroundings doesn't mean you're going to see anybody," she said. "Just be more on your guard and know that there's people out there that are ready to take what you've got at your weakest moments."

Bartunek is also hoping somebody spots her car, a blue 2010 Hyundai Elantra with Utah license plate number B65 1NA. Anybody with information is asked to call West Jordan Police at 801-840-4000.

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