From Deseret News archives:
3 caught with with $7,000 in iPod gear
Trio had flown to Utah from N.Y. just before a robbery
Security officers at the Centerville SuperTarget, 200 N. Market Place Drive, were notified of a "smash-and-grab" style theft that happened earlier at the Riverdale SuperTarget. Centerville Police Lt. Paul Child said security officers called police when they saw a man attempting the same thing in their store.
In Riverdale, he said, the men apparently broke into a glass case containing the devices, emptied them into bags and left the store.
Child said the man at the Centerville store was attempting to do the same thing but got nervous and left just as police arrived. Video surveillance helped locate the getaway vehicle, which was found entering the freeway moments later. Police stopped the vehicle on the southbound onramp to I-15, he said.
It was later discovered the men had flown into Salt Lake City on a red-eye flight from New York on Thursday night, with plans to take home multiple iPod souvenirs.
In their vehicle, police found 20 iPods — including several of the 80 gigabyte size — video models, and multiple PlayStation movies and games. Also in the car, Child said, were several maps of Utah with addresses and locations of various Target, Wal-Mart and Home Depot stores along the Wasatch Front.
Child said the three men had plans to travel to Las Vegas following their brief stay in Salt Lake.
Riverdale police plan to charge the men with theft and Centerville police are looking at attempted theft charges. The case remains under investigation, and additional leads are being followed.
The three were booked into Weber County Jail on Friday night. They are: Hector L. Gonzales, 34; Peter R. Sanchez, 25; and Daniel Garcia, 24.
E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com
