Stolen firearms, animals seized from home, police say

Stolen firearms, animals seized from home, police say

(Cache County Jail)


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SMITHFIELD CANYON, Cache County — Police have recovered several items allegedly stolen during a string of burglaries, including firearms and a variety of birds and animals.

Douglas Birkinbine, 53, and Victoria Asta, 51, were arrested Wednesday, Nov. 17 after Birkinbine broke into a Paradise home and threatened its residents with a gun, according to Cache County Sheriff Chad Jensen. The pair later led police on a pursuit through several communities in southern Cache County and rammed a deputy's car before being arrested, Jensen said.

Investigators with the Cache County Sheriff's Office, North Park Police Department, Logan City Police Department and ATF were investigating several burglaries in Cache County, and on Nov. 19, they served a search warrant at the home Birkinbine and Asta had been renting in Smithfield Canyon.

"Items found while searching the residence are directly related to at least seven additional home burglaries that have taken place on the north end of Cache Valley," Jensen said.

During the investigation, officials discovered several firearms, one of which was reported stolen from Montana, Jensen said. Several animals were also located and seized from the home including turkeys, ducks, rabbits, cats and a ferret.

"These animals were taken to safe locations pending the outcome of the investigation and the owner's ability to care for the animals," Jensen said.

The owner of the home told investigators that he had been storing a 1990 light blue Toyota with an aluminum shell on the property and that it had been stolen. The vehicle has not yet been located and officials didn't say if the theft was related to the other burglaries.

Investigators plan to meet with each victim individually as they sort through the stolen items, Jensen said.

Birkinbine and Asta were booked into the Cache County Jail on suspicion of aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and assault on a police officer, among other potential charges.

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Faith Heaton Jolley

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