Man allegedly uses West Valley City Walmart merchandise to steal other store goods

WEST VALLEY CITY — A man allegedly found everything he needed to commit a crime in Walmart, including burglary tools, according to police.

Police say the man entered Walmart, 3180 S. 5600 West, about 2:30 a.m. Friday. The man first went to the hardware section, where he got a crowbar, said West Valley Police Capt. Tom McLachlan.

The man next walked to the electronics section, where he allegedly used the crowbar to pry open a display case and take several iPods and Nintendo DS game systems, McLachlan said. The man loaded the items into a shopping cart and headed for the door.

A customer who witnessed what happened confronted the man but backed down after the man pulled out a knife and threatened him, McLachlan said.

The man loaded some of the items into a car, left some of the merchandise in the cart and drove off. Witnesses were able to a get a license plate number, but it was registered to a vehicle that was listed as stolen, McLachlan said.

The suspect was described as a white male in his mid-20s, about 5 feet 11 inches tall and 150 pounds, with short brown spiky hair. He was last seen wearing a blue hoodie and blue jeans. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 801-840-4000.

— Pat Reavy