An off-duty reserve deputy sheriff working out in a Bountiful gym Saturday caught a man breaking into cars in a shopping center's parking lot, an arrest that may help clear up dozens of vehicle burglaries in Bountiful and other Davis County cities.
Dan Barton was working out about noon Saturday in a gym in Colonial Square in Bountiful when he noticed a man going from car to car in the parking lot, trying to open their doors, according to the sheriff's department.Bountiful Police Chief Larry Higgens said Barton saw the man trying to break a window to get into a van and apprehended him, then called for assistance from the Bountiful police.
On questioning him, Higgens said, he admitted being responsible for a string of car burglaries in the city over the past two or three months. Higgens said he believes the man, based on information he gave police, may also be responsible for numerous vehicle break-ins in other cities around the county.
"He told us he went around parking lots in shopping centers, looking for purses and other valuables that were left in plain sight," the chief said.
The man, a 35-year-old Salt Lake resident, was charged with three counts of vehicle burglary, possession of burglary tools and possession of stolen property, according to Higgens.