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Residents of a Salt Lake neighborhood are concerned about their safety after a man was held at gunpoint during a home invasion.
It happened near 300 West and 500 North. The victim heard a knock on the door just after 11:30 p.m. When he opened it, he found an acquaintance he had met previously through his girlfriend. The acquaintance asked for another man at the house. When the victim told the suspect he wasn't there, the suspect asked to come in and use the phone.
The victim let the suspect in and went to get the phone. When he reached the phone and turned around, the suspect was pointing a gun at him.
Lt. James Tracy with the Salt Lake City Police Department said, "He made him strip down out of his clothes, get into his bathtub and, after a short period of time, left the house."
After the suspect left the house, the victim came out of the bathroom and found his wallet, laptop, phone and a few other items missing. The victim ran to a nearby convenience store and called 911.
When police arrived, the victim could give police only a vague description of the suspect, a man in his 20s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall with a thin build, wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.
Police say they are working on a few leads and they do know a nickname for the suspect, but they are not releasing that information right now. The victim's girlfriend has not been able to help in the investigation because she is out of town.
Salt Lake City police say home robberies in the area are up significantly. In November of 2007, there were four home robberies. Last month, there were seven. That increase has neighbors who live next to the victim of last night home invasion concerned for their safety. Bryce Woodbury said, "That's a little bit disturbing, knowing that happened next door."
Jackie Smalley, said, "It's unnerving to think you slept through something that happened right on the other side of the wall."
Police say it is unclear if this incident was drug related, but they say typically home invasions like this are. Salt Lake City police spokeswoman Robin Snyder said, "Generally, they are drug related. It's not usually a random act. But you know just keep yourself safe, always lock that door, do not open that door to someone you don't recognize or that you don't know well."
Police don't attribute the recent spike of robberies to one particular thing and say overall the total number for the year is about the same as last year.
They also report that property crime is up right now and warn homeowners to take extra precautions to protect their homes.
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
