Police briefs

5 accused of thefts against Home Depot

Five men have been charged with theft by receiving stolen property after an alleged multistate fraud ring targeting Home Depot stores came to an end in Utah last week.

Domingo Ursua Samson, 71, Jose Gonsalez Salazar, 44, Anthony Adebayo Ajao, 36, Rony Giron Hernandez, 34, and Jorge Berrios, 40, were all charged with theft and receiving stolen property, a second-degree felony.

On May 20, officers from Cottonwood Heights and Midvale received intelligence that an organized crime ring that targets Home Depot stores would strike at a Cottonwood Heights store. Officers observed the men arrive in a van "heavily laden" with Home Depot merchandise, according to the charges.

After being taken into custody, all of the men told police that they were "part of an organization where workers are driven to Home Depot locations and, acting in concert, steal merchandise pre-selected by the supervisor by use of duplicate or counterfeit cash register receipts and fraudulently obtained gift cards," the charges said.

The merchandise in the van had been stolen at stores along the I-15 corridor from California through Utah, according to prosecutors.

— Ethan Thomas

S.L. man is charged with dog-fighting

A Salt Lake man faces dog-fighting charges after police responded to a tip that the man was training dogs for fighting.

Keith Ornette Harris, 40, was charged in 3rd District Court with seven counts of dog-fighting, a third-degree felony, and three counts of cruelty to an animal, a class-B misdemeanor.

Officers responded to the man's home in November after receiving the tip and he fled when officers began to question him, the charges said.

Officers found seven adult male pit bulls, two of which were chained up without water, and another was crated in its own waste without water, according to the charges.

"Officers discovered paraphernalia, including treadmills, along with other indicia and evidence that the dogs were being trained for fighting," the charges said.

— Ethan Thomas

South S.L. man guilty in prostitution case

A South Salt Lake man accused of hiring underage girls to perform motel-room sex acts has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court.