Burglary suspects nabbed

Two men police believe were responsible for up to 10 home burglaries in Taylorsville have been arrested. The burglaries resulted in more than $100,000 worth of property being stolen.

William Andrews, 23, and 25-year-old Bob Trujillo were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of five counts each of burglary.

Taylorsville police had been keeping an eye on the neighborhood near 2500 West and 5200 South because of a recent rash of home burglaries. Just before 1 p.m. Wednesday, police received a call about two men trying to break into a home, said Taylorsville Police Sgt. Rosie Rivera.

Nearby officers spotted the men's parked car, which they had already been looking for from previous incidents, and then spotted the two men walking down the street. They were arrested without incident. One of the men had a crowbar hidden in his clothes, she said.

"They were forcing their way in homes with the crowbar. They were going in and taking from Christmas presents to furniture," Rivera said. "In one house they took a big plasma TV and four guns."

The burglaries date back to just before Thanksgiving. They occurred mostly in the area from Redwood Road to 2700 West and from 4100 South to 5200 South.

In one incident, a car was stolen from a man delivering newspapers, Rivera said. The thieves backed the vehicle into the garage of a house they were robbing, threw out all the newspapers and loaded the vehicle with two televisions, guns and jewelry. In another incident, $15,000 worth of jewelry was taken from a woman, Rivera said.

The suspects Wednesday took detectives to their residence, where more stolen property was found. Many items were recovered, but many were already gone.

"The jewelry was pawned, the financial papers sold and the guns pawned," Rivera said.

Two guns were also recovered from the residence. Detectives said a shotgun, a couple of .22-caliber rifles and a .357 Magnum were still missing as of Thursday. Guitars, DVDs, some costume jewelry and old coins were some of the items recovered Wednesday night. Taylorsville police contacted as many victims as they could Wednesday to have them claim their stolen property.

Some of the checks that were stolen recently showed up in an attempted fraud in Midvale, Rivera said. Detectives believe a third man was responsible for that incident. Additional arrests are possible.

As for a motive for the crime spree, Rivera said all that the men will tell investigators is: "They owed people money."

Trujillo has an extensive history of theft and burglary, according to court records. Because he was on parole, Rivera said prosecutors may seek federal charges for a restricted person in possession of a gun.

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