Trio caught in home burglary

WEST VALLEY CITY — Three people police believe were committing home burglaries by targeting unoccupied homes during the day were arrested and booked into jail Wednesday.

West Valley Police Capt. Tom McLachlan said his officers were on patrol about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday when they spotted three people who were sought in a recent rash of burglaries. The officers followed the two men and one woman and watched as they carried items from a house near 7400 West and 3400 South, McLachlan said.

The officers followed the trio in their car a little longer and then pulled them over and arrested them.

Amber Tippets, 30, Kirk Williams, 25, and Aldo Gonzales, 18, were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of one count each of aggravated burglary. But detectives believe the group may be responsible for many more crimes.

The group typically looked for homes that appeared to be unoccupied during the day, either by finding newspapers that hadn't been collected off driveways, uncollected mail or simply by knocking on the door and then going to the back of the house if no one answered, McLachlan said. The group typically took jewelry and electronics and sometimes firearms, he said.

Although there have been a number of burglaries in recent weeks all with the same characteristics, McLachlan said, a lot of burglars work the same way, and he wasn't sure if the trio was responsible for all of them.

Some of the stolen property has been showing up in pawn shops, but McLachlan said investigators were also looking into whether items were being traded directly for drugs.

— Pat Reavy