VERNAL — Police got an assist from Old Man Winter in their search for a man suspected of trying burglarize a pawn shop.
Early Wednesday, officers were called to an alarm at Jiffy Pawn, 630 W. Main, and found a rock had been used to shatter one of the shop's front windows, according to Assistant Vernal Police Chief Keith Campbell.
Officers spotted footprints in the freshly fallen snow outside the pawn shop and followed them to Dakota Michael Melton, the assistant chief said.
"It was determined that Melton's intent was to steal a gun from the store," Campbell said.
Melton, 22, was booked into the Uintah County Jail for investigation of attempted burglary and criminal mischief.
Court records show Melton was charged in 8th District Court on Dec. 2 with burglary, criminal mischief and theft. He is accused of throwing a rock through the glass front door of a Vernal clothing shop in late November and stealing a coat, according to charging documents.
Melton is currently on probation for two felony theft convictions in a case where a judge ordered him to pay nearly $12,000 in combined restitution to a pair of Roosevelt businesses, court records show.
— Geoff Liesik