Suspects Sought In String Of Utah Garden Nursery Burglaries
Aug 13, 2019, 10:36 PM | Updated: Aug 14, 2019, 8:57 am
LAYTON, Utah — Workers at a garden nursery hope someone can identify the burglars responsible for a break-in and theft that is believed to be connected to a larger spree spanning from Davis County to Utah County.
Surveillance images captured at J&J Nursery and Garden Center, 1815 W. Gentile St., early the morning of Sunday, June 30, show the two burglars combing through drawers and registers.
“They smashed right through it,” said general manager Andy Stevenson, standing next to a glass door. “They went right through this and bypassed alarms because they didn’t open the door.”
Stevenson said the two burglars successfully avoided motion sensors.
“(They) tried to kick through a metal door and get their way through and couldn’t, and our alarms went off.” Stevenson said. “That’s when they rummaged through all the tills and out the door they went.”
In the video, the suspects could be seen wearing matching royal blue hoodies with black sleeves and matching gloves that appeared to be fluorescent yellow or green.
One of the burglars appeared to be wearing darker colored pants, while the other was wearing lighter pants.
Stevenson said the suspects got away with a single cash bag which had been accidentally left behind in one of the drawers.
Layton Police Lt. Alex Davis said investigators believed the burglary was connected to several others, though he was unsure the number.
KSL independently learned of at least six recent burglaries between late June and late July.
Other cities where the break-ins had taken place included Kaysville, Pleasant Grove, Orem and Payson.
Nurseries and Golf Courses
Stevenson questioned whether the suspects may be the same ones behind another burglary spree earlier this year at 10 Wasatch Front golf courses.
He noted the golf course and nursery burglaries all seemed to involve two burglars wearing hoodies and backpacks who targeted safes and registers.
South Jordan Police Lt. Matt Pennington said Tuesday evening that he didn’t know if any of the nursery burglaries were connected to the golf course burglaries, but that leads had essentially gone cold in their case at Glenmoor Golf Course.
Hope for Arrests
Stevenson said the burglaries were maddening, especially considering that they targeted largely “ma and pa” businesses.
He encouraged anyone with information about the suspects or burglary cases to call the respective police agencies.
“It’s just like, holy cow, when is this going to stop?” Stevenson questioned.
