Charges: Burglar leaves behind email address

SALT LAKE CITY — Charges were filed Monday against a man who police say burglarized a vehicle and home, left behind contact information and told a witness he was a ghost.

Kurt Karren, 25, was charged in 3rd District Court with burglary, a second-degree felony; vehicle burglary, a class A misdemeanor; and two counts of theft, a class B misdemeanor.

A woman told police on Aug. 7 that someone had broken into her car and stolen several items, including her vehicle's title. She said an envelope was left behind in the car with the email address "kurtkarren@hotmail.com" written on it. A partially eaten pear stabbed with a knife was also left near the car under a pentagram that someone had drawn on the side of her house.

A friend of the woman told police that he had received a voicemail from a man who said his name was Kurt and that he had a car title he would give back if the man did not want to do business, according to the charges.

Another man told police that he found an unknown man in his home on Aug. 7. The homeowner asked the man who he was, to which he responded, "I'm Kurt, you can't see me. I'm a ghost," the charges state.

The homeowner saw that the man was carrying a knife that belonged to his roommate, chased the man out of the house and called police. An officer on patrol located a man walking down the street carrying a large knife and identified himself to the officer as Karren, the charges state.

According to the charges, the officer stopped the man and found him in possession of a car title with the woman's name on it, several sets of keys and a knife that was identified as belongling to the homeowner's roommate.

— Benjamin Wood