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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — A routine traffic stop lead to the arrests of two suspected busy burglars Sunday night.
A Cottonwood Heights police officer found Kristopher Mangum, 31, and Daniel Watson, 36, inside a vehicle carrying balloons of heroin and cash, Sgt. Mark Askerlund said.
"And while searching the vehicle, (investigators) recovered a couple of stolen guns, a police officer's badge, more drugs, more cash and a whole grundle of suspected stolen property — laptops, guns, cameras, collectible coins, iPads," Askerlund said.
But police weren't done at that point discovering evidence.
When Mangum and Watson got to the Salt Lake County Jail, officers there "found more cash and drugs stuffed down their underwear," Askerlund said.
Mangum and Watson were arrested for investigation of a number of charges, including drug possession with intent to distribute, illegal possession of a firearm and possession of stolen property.
The badge recovered allegedly belonged to a Unified police officer working in Midvale, Askerlund said. Unified police Monday, however, said they were not aware of any unaccounted for badges out of that area.
Investigators weren't sure Monday where the two handguns were stolen from, or if the suspects actually stole them or got them in a trade for drugs.
In 2011, Mangum took a plea in abeyance for disorderly conduct and was ordered to seek counseling, according to Utah court records.
Last year, Watson was convicted on an amended charge of attempted theft by receiving stolen property, a class A misdemeanor, according to court records. As part of the plea deal in that case, another case involving felony aggravated assault charges were dropped in exchange for his guilty plea in the stolen property case, court records state.
