CRIME
Salt Lake City Homeowners Set Trap, Catch Thief On Camera
May 4, 2021, 6:15 PM | Updated: 8:54 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — A couple of Salt Lake homeowners fought back after a burglar walked into their home and stole some belongings while they were sleeping. They said they found an opportunity to catch the thief on camera and it worked.
It was all about where they specially placed a camera just for him that allowed them to plaster his face on flyers all over the neighborhood.
After someone walked into their home, they said he left behind a pretty good indication that he’d be back.
“Very few contents were inside, so they eventually left,” said Jesse, the homeowner who did not want to be identified on camera.
At one point, the thief seemed to look right at the camera without realizing it was there.
Jesse came up with the idea to get the burglar on camera last week.
“We woke up, 12:30 a.m. to the dog barking, noticed that something was off in the house, realized that somebody had just been in there — stole a purse and keys, a lot of other personal items like that,” he said.
Jesse said their dog Winifred scared the guy off.
“Yeah, we definitely yell at her a lot less for barking at noises now,” he said.
The family said they were disturbed that someone was there while they slept.
“It’s a pretty scary thing. It’s kind of jarring. It’s really difficult to get back to normal,” said Jesse. “Yeah, I don’t think there’s too many words to describe it.”
Because the thief got away with a set of keys, Jesse had a feeling he would be back, so he hid a camera just for the thief.
“Fortunately, he came back in the middle of the afternoon, so it was really easy to catch them on camera,” Jesse said.
Jesse hoped that someone would recognize the guy and call police.
“You know, when I watch that video, I see somebody who might in the future, could possibly regret their decisions that they’re making today, regret the path that they’re on, and it’s not too late to change,” he said. “It’s not too late to make some better choices.”
Jesse said there have been a lot of car burglaries in the area recently, so many of his neighbors looked forward to that same outcome.
Anyone with information has been asked to call South Salt Lake Police.
