A man who police believe cleaned out the house of Olympic bicyclist David Zabriskie of Salt Lake City during an extensive two-day burglary spree has been arrested.
But the search continued Thursday for most of the $250,000 in property that was stolen — and at least one additional suspect.
Leopold Jay Howard, 39, contacted police and arranged to turn himself in Wednesday night after his name was released to the media as the prime suspect in the case. He was booked into jail for investigation of burglary, theft and receiving stolen property.
Salt Lake police believe that on about Feb. 15, Howard broke into Zabriskie's home while he was out of the state for a race. Police believe Howard took an estimated $250,000 worth of property including:
a black 2008 Subaru Outback, Utah plate A189NC,
a black 2006 Toyota Scion, Utah plate 094VWM,
a Sony 52-inch flat-screen TV,
a Bose speaker/receiver system worth an estimated $15,000,
video-game systems,
13 bicycles, including an Olympic time-trial bike,
laptops and a computer hard drive,
a Beijing Olympic ring with Zabriskie's initials engraved,
an Olympic watch,
and limited-edition Marvel statues.
According to a Salt Lake County Jail report, Howard went back to Zabriskie's house a day after the first break-in, broke in again and took additional property.
The big break in the case came Feb. 24, when investigators found one of Zabriskie's cars abandoned in a Salt Lake driveway. A man who was spotted getting in and out of the car was arrested. Two days later, investigators identified Howard as their suspect.
Investigators served several search warrants Thursday looking for more of the missing property. One of the warrants was served at Howard's house, where items from other burglaries were recovered, but very few of Zabriskie's possessions were found, said Salt Lake Police Sgt. Robin Snyder.
One of the items recovered Wednesday night, however, was Zabriskie's second missing car, which was found abandoned near 450 East and 1700 South, she said.
Investigators Thursday were asking the public to help them find a third man, Craig William Carlisle, 43. He was described as 6 feet 1 inch, 160 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes and a tattoo of a rose with a shark on his right upper arm and an eagle on his left upper arm.
Detectives believe Carlisle may be driving a red 1974 Ford F250 pickup truck with Utah license plate WS5859. Anyone with information can call the Tips for Cash line, at 801-799-INFO (4636).
Zabriskie, 30, is an internationally known cyclist. Among his many achievements, he holds the record for the fastest time trial in the history of the Tour de France. He also has won three stages of the Tour de France and is a multiple winner of the U.S. National Time Trial Championship.
E-MAIL: preavy@desnews.com