NORTH SALT LAKE — Police and the residents were concerned about a group of burglars that remained at large Friday after targeting an East Bench neighborhood earlier in the week, stealing a car as well as various personal belongings.
North Salt Lake Deputy Police Chief Mitch Gwilliam said at least one of the masked suspects appeared in surveillance videos to have been armed with a short-barreled rifle.
“A rifle is unusual,” Gwilliam said. “(That) obviously poses a significant concern if anybody were to confront them or happen upon them.”
Gwilliam said the group targeted unlocked cars and garages in the general area of Club House Court starting after 2:00 a.m. Tuesday. The suspects appeared to have burglarized at least five cars and then stole a car from a garage.
Surveillance footage showed the group had attempted to steal a second car on Club House Court, but when it died, they simply left it in the road.
Later that morning, an officer at a gas station spotted the suspect vehicle, a silver Audi S4 and the black 2017 Lexus GS 350 that had been stolen from the garage.
According to Gwilliam, the group sped away in both vehicles at nearly 80mph, leading the officer to terminate the pursuit over safety concerns.
Neighbors Friday evening told KSL TV they remained unnerved by the chain of events. BJ Blaser said gift cards were stolen from his SUV, which had been left in the driveway.
“Totally different level, right?” Blaser said. “For that many people to be that organized, hitting up that many homes in the neighborhood. Yeah, it’s got a lot of people (shaken).”
He said everyone was surprised the group targeted an out-of-the-way cul-de-sac high on the East Bench.
“That’s what’s scary. I’ve got a young family. You know, I’ve got young children inside this home, and it’s my job to protect them,” Blaser said. “We’ve been very fortunate in this area that we haven’t had to worry about that, and the fact that we do now, it’s too bad. It’s just not good.”
Gwilliam said detectives were checking with other local agencies to see if this group had been active elsewhere recently. He urged people not to confront these suspects or any other suspects attempting to burglarize or steal a car.
“We don’t want anybody, any innocent persons, getting injured or hurt or, certainly, killed,” Gwilliam said. “If it is, in fact, some sort of a rifle, that’s very concerning and could cause serious injury or death to somebody if they were shot.”
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