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OREM — A man who was charged with theft in July for allegedly pawning thousands of dollars in rented camera equipment was arrested again Monday in connection with the same crime —12 days after being released on bail.
Maxwell Richard Flygare, 18, of Alpine, was arrested Monday after allegedly pawning $12,000 worth of camera equipment that he had rented from an Orem business on Aug. 13, according to a jail report. Flygare made approximately $2,415 from selling the equipment at several pawnshops, the report stated.
Flygare told the business that he lost the camera equipment after a friend accidentally dropped it from a steep Park City hiking trail, according to the jail report. The report filed Monday said Flygare pawned equipment that he claimed to have destroyed, though not all of the equipment has been recovered since some it had already been sold by the pawn shops, the report stated.
He was arrested on suspicion of theft by receiving stolen property, theft by rental agreement and theft by deception, according to the jail report. He was booked into the Utah County Jail early Tuesday.
An Orem detective discovered that Flygare had been charged in July with theft for a similar crime. Court documents show Flygare was charged with theft, a second-degree felony, on July 18, after pawning more than $11,000 worth of rented camera equipment. Some of the equipment was later found to have been sold on eBay, according to a charging document filed against Flygare in 4th District Court.
The July 18 charge was amended to theft pursuant to a rental agreement, also a second-degree felony, on Aug. 7. Utah County Jail records show he was booked on Aug. 1 and booked out on Aug. 8.
While police were investigating the second case, Flygare entered a third camera rental shop, this time in American Fork, and attempted to rent equipment from that business as well on Monday, the jail report stated. Employees refused to rent equipment to Flygare after they learned about him from the other two Orem businesses, according to the report.
American Fork police spotted Flygare in Cedar Hills Monday night and alerted Orem police. He was later apprehended by police, and two camera cases owned by the second Orem rental company were found in his possession, the report added.
Since Flygare had reportedly attempted to rent equipment from a company in American Fork, Orem Police Lt. Craig Martinez said there is a possibility for more victims. He said the department was sharing information with other agencies to see if other businesses were targeted.
Flygare's name and face have been a talking point in Utah's photography community, which may have been what helped thwart the reported American Fork attempt.
Greg Johnson, owner of The Brute Squad in Salt Lake City, claims Flygare attempted to rent $40,000 in camera equipment from his business on Friday. When Johnson told him the camera equipment he wanted wasn't available, Flygare told Johnson he'd return on Monday.
Johnson said he became suspicious from the encounter and Flygare's request. Johnson said Flygare had asked for cameras to take with him to the canyons to take photos of models that afternoon.
"He was dressed in his Sunday best sweater and it was like 98 degrees that day, so that was my first red flag — like he's going to go up and do a shoot in like formal clothes?" Johnson recalled. He added that he found it out of the ordinary that Flygare asked for cameras and no other equipment, such as lights or stands.
Johnson said he decided to vet Flygare's name online afterward and that's when Johnson found a news article from Flygare's arrest earlier in August. Johnson said he then alerted other businesses in the Salt Lake area, who had also claimed to have seen him.
"Half said they got a weird vibe and sent him away and the other half said he rented gear," Johnson said.
It remained unclear Wednesday if any of those businesses had reported missing equipment.
Meanwhile, court records show Flygare had a right to waive preliminary hearing in 4th District Court on Thursday, which was scheduled to be continued on Sept. 13.
