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WEST VALLEY CITY -- Call it the case of the semi smash and grab. Police in West Valley City are looking for two men who crashed a stolen semi truck into a pawn shop Monday morning as part of an attempted burglary.
Police say the pair hit the building with a stolen semi truck and ran when the truck got stuck, bringing a new meaning to the term "hit and run." The crash--or we should say crashes--happened at the Cash American pawn shop.
Police say two men rammed into the building three times but couldn't make it through the second set of front doors.
Captain Tom McLachlan, with the West Valley City Police Department, said, "Apparently they really wanted to get inside the pawn shop."
Police say a clerk at the gas station across the street heard the commotion just before 5 a.m. When he went to check on the noise, the truck had rammed into the building for the third time and appeared to be stuck.
"That clerk came out hollered at them, and two male suspects ran off southbound," McLachlan said.
Police say the truck belongs to Harper Excavating and was stolen out of North Salt Lake sometime between Saturday night and Monday morning. It appears the two men targeted the pawn shop, but they clearly miscalculated the construction of the building.
"It is pretty brazen. Obviously they had thought about this, they could see the construction of the building and felt they needed something more than just a normal, run-of-the-mill vehicle; however, they still misjudged it," McLachlan said.
Harper Excavating says there is at least$10,000 in damage to their truck. The building, too, suffered significant structural damage and will need to be inspected, but it is currently open.
The truck superintendent for Harper told us the whole story came as a big surprise, saying, "that's a crazy way to burglarize a pawn shop."
Police are reviewing surveillance cameras video, hoping it helps them figure out who is responsible.
Story compiled with contributions from Andrew Adams, John Daley and Shara Park.
