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- Joshua James Mangum pleaded guilty to vehicle theft and property damage.
- In one case, he used a stolen tractor to steal an ATM causing $28,000 in damage.
- Mangum was sentenced to probation and drug court with $56,000 restitution.
TAYLORSVILLE — A Taylorsville man accused of committing a string of burglaries where he damaged property, including through use of a tractor, has pleaded guilty to four criminal charges.
Joshua James Mangum, 42, pleaded guilty Monday to theft of a vehicle and two counts of property damage, second-degree felonies, and one count of third-degree felony property damage. All four charges come from separate criminal cases filed in 3rd District Court.
"Joshua, over the course of three months, has demonstrated his lack of concern for the property of others as he severely damaged strangers' property in several cities along the Salt Lake Valley … in what he claimed was to obtain narcotics to feed his addiction," a police booking affidavit states.
On Jan. 7, Mangum was arrested in connection with an ATM theft on Dec. 22, 2024, at a Holiday Oil, 6189 S. 3200 West, in Taylorsville. He was charged with two counts of causing property damage, a second-degree felony and a third-degree felony; two counts of burglary, a third-degree felony; and two counts of theft, a class A misdemeanor and a class B misdemeanor.
Mangum "cut the power to the business, hopped the fence and stole a CAT front-loader tractor from a construction site across the street, used the stolen tractor to drive into the business doors and windows, stole an ATM valued at $2,772.41 from inside the business, drove through a fence belonging to Taylorsville city, and took $2,660 cash out of the stolen ATM," according to charging documents,
Police reviewed surveillance video and watched as Mangum drove the tractor up a hill just after midnight, parked it and waited for employees of the gas station to leave about 40 minutes later, a police booking affidavit states. "The suspect walks around the rear of the building to the south side where the power box is ultimately turned off."
Damage to the store was estimated at more than $28,000, the charges state, and the damage to a fence he drove through to get the tractor was nearly $8,000.
Investigators recognized Mangum in the video as a man wanted in burglaries in Taylorsville, West Jordan, Kearns and Millcreek and "responsible for thousands of dollars of damage and stolen currency from those burglaries," the affidavit alleges.
A day later, Mangum was arrested in connection with a separate crime at another Holiday Oil. He was charged with two counts of property damage and two counts of theft, second-degree felonies; burglary, a third-degree felony; drug possession, a class A misdemeanor; and trespassing, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, class B misdemeanors.
In that case, Mangum went to Holiday Oil, 3436 S. 2300 East in Millcreek, on Dec. 5, 2024, cut the power to the building and broke into an ATM, taking about $1,000, according to charging documents. Investigators say he caused about $8,500 in damage to the store, including the window frame, and $2,800 in damage to a nearby cafe.
"Officers also discovered that nearby Roots Café, 3437 S. 2300 East, had also been burglarized after the unknown suspect, later identified as Joshua James Mangum, used a pry bar to bend the door frame and entered the business while it was closed. Mangum stole approximately $150 worth of cash from the petty cash drop envelope," charging documents state.
In an interview with police, Mangum admitted he burglarized the gas station and cafe "due to his narcotics addiction," charges state.
Mangum was also charged with third-degree felony property damage on Jan. 30 in connection to a Dec. 14, 2024, incident where he was accused of causing nearly $2,000 in damages to an ATM at Goldenwest Credit Union, 6761 S. Redwood Road. In the final case, Mangum was charged on April 25 with driving a stolen truck while possessing drugs and driving on a denied license.
In exchange for pleading guilty to the four felonies, the other seven felonies and nine misdemeanors he was charged with across the four cases were dismissed, according to a plea agreement.
Mangum was sentenced to one to 15 years in prison for both second-degree felony property damage charges and the theft charge, and one to five years for the third-degree property damage charge. The prison terms were suspended, however, and he was ordered to serve three years on probation while enrolled in drug court and to pay approximately $56,000 in restitution.
