Convicted serial burglar faces bundle of new charges since his prison release

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SALT LAKE CITY — A convicted serial burglar may be headed back to prison just months after being released after police say he went right back to his old ways.

Taylor Robert Bischoff, 35, of Murray, was discharged from the Utah State Prison in January, according to court records. He made headlines several years ago in a series of home burglaries.

Now, since being released, Bischoff is accused of committing crimes in several jurisdictions, including fleeing from police by driving the wrong way on I-15 and stealing car keys while at 2nd District Court in Farmington.

On April 6, Bischoff was at the Farmington courthouse when he walked into a janitorial closet and took items from a purse the custodian left inside, according to charging documents.

Surveillance video shows Bischoff sitting outside a courtroom on a couch and he appeared to be stuffing items between the cushions, the charges state. Police later found gift cards belonging to the custodian between the couch cushions.

Investigators believe Bischoff kept the custodian’s driver’s license and car keys, however, and went to her home and stole her car, the charges state.

On Wednesday, Bischoff was charged in 2nd District Court with theft and three counts of unlawful acquisition of a bank card, third-degree felonies; and possession of another person’s ID, a class A misdemeanor.

On April 18, police say they got into a chase with Bischoff, who was still in the custodian’s car, according to charging documents.

Police were called to investigate a suspicious person in a Bountiful parking lot late at night. When officers approached, Bischoff allegedly got into the car and fled.

“(Bischoff) entered I-15 going the wrong way. Other officers observed a hole in the fence separating I-15 from the Comfort Inn and Suites. (His) vehicle was found abandoned at the Comfort Inn and Suites with front end damage consistent with having driven through the fence,” according to the charges.

Officers set up a containment and were able to find and arrest Bischoff. After his arrest, he “admitted to knowingly entering the freeway going the wrong direction. (He) stated that the ditch turned to flat ground and he decided to drive through the fence to avoid the officers that would be manning the freeway ahead,” the charges state.

Bischoff was charged in that case with theft by receiving stolen property and burglary, second-degree felonies; failing to stop for an officer’s signal, theft and unlawful possession of a bank card, third-degree felonies; drug possession and reckless endangerment, class A misdemeanors; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor.

Police also noted in their arresting affidavit that Bischoff is a suspect in crimes in several other cities. As investigators began to retrace his steps, he was also charged with burglary, a second-degree felony; and theft, a third-degree felony, for a vehicle burglary in Layton and home burglary in Bountiful.

“After (his arrest), when asked what houses he had burglarized, (Bischoff) stated, ‘I’m breaking into a lot of them,” according to charging documents.