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TOOELE — Tooele has always been a place where you can find plenty of patriotism. It's on display everywhere.
But even here, among all the U.S. flags and red, white and blue decorations, someone took the land of the free a little too literally.
"We are a very patriotic city, but maybe our freedoms got taken a little too far with taking other people's stuff? I don't know," Tooele Police Cpl. Colbey Bentley said.
Bentley is working on a case where two patriotic decorated golf carts were stolen just a few hours after they were in the city's July 4th parade.
Surveillance video shows two people breaking into a small storage shed just outside the city's aquatic park, starting them up, and driving off with them.
"I don't know how they started them," Bentley said. "Obviously, carts have keys, but I am sure there are other ways. I mean, if we can hot wire cars, I am sure we can figure out a way to get golf carts going."
Those carts belonged to the city of Tooele and replacing them would have cost residents money.
"Some people may view this as petty, but at the end of the day, these were city-owned golf carts. That's taxpayer money," Bentley said. "I know for me and many other citizens, taxpayer money is a big thing. So, we want to make sure we treat their taxpayer money accordingly."
The two carts were found Wednesday evening abandoned roughly 8 miles away up Bates Canyon along a rough, dirt road where you wouldn't expect golf carts to go.
"That's the thing," Bentley said. "Maybe they got far enough up Bates Canyon and realized we can't go any further, let's leave them and go."
Police got the carts back with some damage to them and are now trying to find the people who did it.
"There is a $1,000 reward for anyone who brings forward information leading to the arrest of the suspects in this case," Bentley said.
