Burglaries linked by cut phone lines

A series of burglaries involving phone lines being cut has detectives from several agencies looking for suspects.

The latest incident was Sunday night in Salt Lake County when two businesses were burglarized after their alarm systems were disabled by a person or group of people who randomly cut wires in a phone box outside.

After cutting the phone lines, someone smashed through a window and took all the cash left unsecured inside.

Salt Lake County sheriff's detective Kevin Barrett said nearly a dozen businesses have been hit in the past three weeks. In nearly all of the cases, wires to a strip mall or an office complex were cut so the burglars could hit several businesses in one swoop. Most of the burglaries have occurred at night or during the weekend.

Many of the incidents have also involved dentists' offices or other professional businesses, such as insurance companies', attorneys' or doctor offices, Barrett said. But rather than prescription drugs, only loose cash or checks are taken.

"They go from business to business looking for petty cash," he said.

Last Thursday, four businesses were hit in the county in one night, Barrett said. He noted that the frequency of the burglaries had increased in the past month, although he was not sure if all the incidents were related or if there were copycat burglars. Investigators also weren't sure if one person or a group was committing the burglaries.

Barrett also noted that the burglar has become more brazen over the past month.

The alleged burglar apparently cuts every wire possible, hoping that one of them would shut off the alarm, rather than knowing exactly which one to cut, Barrett said.

Phone lines have also been cut in burglaries reported in recent months in Murray, South Jordan, Salt Lake City and Weber County.

The cut wire burglaries first made headlines in July when the Department of Motor Vehicle's South Salt Lake Office had two safes with $100,000 inside stolen after exterior phone lines were cut. The safes and the money were eventually recovered.

In addition to the DMV office, three banks were also burglarized about the same time in the same fashion.

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