Bust: Judge releases Provo man found with meth and loot

PROVO — A Provo man with a long history of breaking the law was released Thursday morning by a 4th District judge following his arrest two days ago.

Michael Pino and another individual landed in jail after police with a search warrant for drugs Wednesday morning reportedly found much more than drugs.

Utah County Major Crimes Task Force served a no-knock, nighttime warrant on an apartment at 380 S. Freedom Blvd. in Provo around 5 a.m., said Provo Police Sgt. Todd Grossgebauer.

When officers arrived, they found hundreds of items believed to be stolen from homes, businesses and construction areas, including televisions, computers and a variety of tools, said Utah County Major Crimes Task Force Lt. Phil Murphy. They also found marijuana and methamphetamine.

However, despite 15 separate felony charges currently pending against Pino in the court system, Judge Claudia Laycock let him go without posting bail.

Court administrators said Laycock questioned whether police had enough evidence to file charges against Pino.

His neighbors, though, said they don't want a man who has been booked into the Utah County jail 28 times moving back into their apartment complex.

"It's a joke," said one neighbor. "Instead of people who obey the law, people who break it are the ones with all the rights. We're the victims, not Mr. Pino."

Other neighbors said they knew what was going on in Pino's apartment.

"All of the other tenants are scared," said one neighbor. "They know what goes on, they are not blind to the fact he's selling drugs and running a burglary ring out of that apartment and it's been going on for months."

It's possible the thefts occurred over several months, Murphy said, as some of the items still had Christmas wrapping paper on them.

Pino and a 29-year-old woman were booked into jail Wednesday for investigation of possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, theft of mislaid property and possession of methamphetamine.

The Metro SWAT team, which is made up of Provo, Orem and Brigham Young University officers, was called to assist the task force in serving the warrant.

The task force, as well as detectives from around the county, are now in the long process of identifying and returning all the property, Murphy said.

It's difficult, though, because many owners didn't take the time to write down serial numbers.

"All those tools tend to have a high-dollar value," Grossgebauer said. "Without a serial number we can't identify that it's been stolen. If you want to protect your property ... use some sort of personal ID to mark your tools or property."

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Contributing: Rosalie Westenskow

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com; sam.penrod@ksl.com