Pleasant Grove police crack theft and credit-card-fraud ring

PLEASANT GROVE — Police officers have cracked a theft and credit-card fraud ring, leading to the recovery of thousands of dollars of stolen items ranging from plasma TVs to underwear.

Earlier this week, a Pleasant Grove officer was investigating a home burglary and the victim told police he suspected his neighbor.

Police talked with the neighbor and ended up finding stolen property on his person, said Pleasant Grove Lt. Michael Smith.

His arrest, subsequent interview and search of his home led to the arrest of four other people, two men and two women.

"It just kind of snowballed," Smith said, explaining that some of the stolen items were from crimes nearly a year old and from a wide area of Utah.

Police have linked the five alleged ring members to home and vehicle burglaries, credit-card fraud, check forgeries, identity theft, forged documents and drug crimes from West Valley to Springville.

All five were booked into the Utah County Jail on a variety of allegations, including theft, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of stolen property and forgery.

While making the arrests, police found drugs and drug paraphernalia in the hotel room where some of the alleged ring members had been staying.

The first crimes were usually home and vehicle burglaries, then the alleged ring members would use those stolen credit cards to buy other goods, Smith said.

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E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com

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