Burglarized homeowners recover property at neighbor's garage sale

SALT LAKE CITY — Charges were filed Wednesday against two men after property stolen from a home in Salt Lake City was recovered at a garage sale next door.

Delbert Hale, 49, and Darrell Herzet, 44, were each charged in 3rd District Court with burglary, a second degree felony, and theft, a second degree felony.

A woman told police she was house sitting for her friends when she came home to find the front door open and the property ransacked. The homeowners returned from out of town that same day and estimated that $6,000 worth of property had been stolen, according to the charges.

The residents suspected their neighbor, Herzet, also known as "Bulldog," had been involved with the burglary. Herzet was having a garage sale and gave the residents and a police officer permission to walk through his home and garage where several missing items were recovered, the charges state.

Herzet told police his friend, Hale, had brought the items to his home for the yard sale.

Hale told police that he broke into the home through a window and took several items, according to the charging documents. He said Herzot had told him his neighbors were out of town and instructed him to enter the home. He told police he brought the stolen items to Herzot before they drove to another home where they left some of the stolen items.

Police also recovered several missing items from that home, the charges state.

— Benjamin Wood