LOGAN — Police say they busted a theft ring that has hit more than 20 businesses, schools and churches in the Cache Valley, arresting four people and issuing criminal summons to four more suspects.
The break-ins have been plaguing the Logan area for more than a month now, Logan Police detective Louise Speth said. Cache County Sheriff's deputies caught up with the burglars when a business owner caught them breaking into a miniature golf course in Paradise.
"We were able to recover evidence at the scene, shoe impressions, similar damage. Most of it is shoewear and the time frame," she said Tuesday. "We started getting tips that a couple of people were bragging to their friends."
The eight suspects range in age from 14 to 21. Investigators said some — but not all — of the suspects participated in each break-in. Police said in several instances, the power was shut off to the buildings just before the burglary. The stolen property and cash was divided up, said Cache County Sheriff's detective Troy Liquin.
"They would have cell phones and they would call each other and let each other know if it was clear to come out or not," he said.
Officers said a half-dozen schools were hit in the past few weeks with cash and computers reported stolen. A pair of LDS churches were broken into. A Chinese restaurant and a car wash in Logan were hit twice, with cash reported stolen both times. Police also investigated a number of restaurant and small business break-ins from Providence to Paradise.
Investigators found a pair of "dump sites" in Logan Canyon and at the Logan-Cache Fairgrounds, where some of the pilfered items were discarded. Altogether, the Cache County Sheriff's Office estimates the damage, property and money stolen at about $16,000. Investigators recovered computers, cameras and even keys to an elementary school. Speth said four of the suspects provided investigators with information about burglaries they didn't do — including a brazen overnight break-in at the Cache Valley Mall in Logan.
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