Provo teen's 911 call nets an intruder

PROVO — Just one day after an 11-year-old Salt Lake boy hid under his bed with a phone to report burglars in his house, a 16-year-old Provo girl hid in the shower to call police about an intruder rummaging around her home.

Around 11 a.m. Wednesday, a man approached a house on Briar Avenue in Provo and knocked on the door, said Provo Police Lt. John Geyerman.

Because the teen didn't want to answer the door, the man assumed no one was home and simply walked in the unlocked home, Geyerman said. Police said the frightened girl then hid in the shower with a phone.

"Even when you're inside, you better lock your door," Geyerman said.

The first time the girl called 911 she was too scared to talk and hung up, Geyerman said.

However, the second time the girl whispered to police that someone else was in the home with her.

Police don't believe the 33-year-old American Fork man they arrested knew anyone else was in the home, and he left with only a credit card.

Even though the girl hung up the first time, because she called on a land-line phone, police were able to track the call and sent out officers to investigate, Geyerman said.

Had she called on a cell phone and hung up, police would have only been able to trace the phone to a general location.

Officers arrived to find the home's door open and yelled at the man to stop, a command he disregarded and ran out the back door, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in 4th District Court.

As he was running on the street, the man took a swing at one of the officers and hit him in the side of the head, but he was then tackled and handcuffed by the officer, Geyerman said. The officer got a bruise and a headache but is fine, Geyerman said.

The man was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of burglary of a dwelling, failure to stop for a peace officer and assault on a peace officer. He is being held on $30,000 cash-only bail.

On Tuesday in Salt Lake City, 11-year-old Michael also decided not to answer his door for a man he didn't recognize. Several minutes later, Michael could see the man and another man weren't going away, so he ran into his room and hid under the bed with a phone.

He then heard the man kick down his bedroom door and even saw his feet walking around the room.

Michael's quick thinking and 911 call enabled officers to arrive at the home while the burglars were still inside, but the men ran out of the home, eluding police. Salt Lake police are still looking for a 1970s-era light green Ford pickup.

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Contributing: Pat Reavy

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E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com