Why I Carry

As the economy sags, as people forget right from wrong and as people get more desperate crime will rise.  This page is to post links to local crime where a self defense plan needs to be in place. I am doing this is because I think there are a lot people who aren’t prepared for crime as it is something that happens to someone else.  I am not here to preach guns guns guns but you need a method of protection equal to or greater than the attacker. I want people to know that crime is close and its personal. I wish I could include more crimes from my job but privacy laws and other legal issues as well as I believe in a person’s is innocent until proven guilty, prevent me from posting such.

Victim foils carjacker’s plan

The carjacker forced the driver to go to an obscure location in West Valley City. While driving down 4700 South, the victim saw a Salt Lake County sheriff’s patrol vehicle near 5000 West, swerved and hit the side door.

Roommates fend off would-be robber

OREM — Four roommates took on an intruder who broke into their Orem home early Sunday morning.

According to Orem police, the suspect entered the home near 950 West 400 South around 7:00, armed with a gun. Police said he was looking to steal some high-ticket items.

“He was trying to steal some electronics, some televisions — video game systems were actually found in his car,” said Sgt. Craig Martinez with the Orem Police Department.

When the suspect went into one of the bedrooms, he woke up the man inside, and they got into a struggle.

“The other roommates heard the commotion and came to help, and they were able to get the gun away from the suspect,” Martinez said.

Men caught after trying to rob trick-or-treaters

Two men who thought it was a good idea to try and rob trick-or-treaters at gunpoint are now behind bars.

Police say Zachary Ramsay and Casey Buchi approached two teens near 8700 S. and 1300 East Saturday night and demanded they empty their pockets. When the teens said they had nothing, the pair stole a bandana that was part of a Halloween costume and took off.

Officer draws gun to prevent assault

Salt Lake City police want to find a man who they say tried to attack an officer Wednesday night.

Investigators say the man walked up to an off-duty officer at the Lowe’s at 1335 S. 300 West around 9 p.m. and asked if he could use his cell phone.

The officer says when he refused, the man began to square himself up to throw a punch. Before he could deliver a blow, the officer kicked him in the leg.

Undeterred, the man grabbed a board and moved toward the officer. The officer drew his gun and the man ran away.

Police searched the area for the man but did not find him.

Shooting victim arrested for burglary 07-16-2009

A man who stumbled into a Sugar House gas station with gunshot wounds is now in jail. Investigators initially believed 26-year-old Ronald Whitelaw was the victim of a drive-by shooting. After receiving new information Thursday, they now think he was shot while he and another man tried to burglarize a home in Holladay.

Lehi man shoots intruder, but he gets away 07-14-2009

This incident is three blocks from my house.

Man shot 3 times after confronting burglar 07-04-2009

SLC man hears noise, chases burglar from his apartment 06-22-2009

Man arrested for road rage stabbing 05-13-2009

LEHI — Police arrested an American Fork man for a road rage incident that ended with a woman stabbed.

Police say the man was angry that the woman cut him off as she exited I-15 in Lehi on Sunday. He followed her to a nearby Park and Ride lot. They got out of their vehicles and began to argue. Police say the man stabbed the woman in the stomach with a pocketknife and drove away.

Suspect fatally shot during Midvale home invasion 05-05-2009

A violent home invasion at an apartment in Midvale Tuesday morning left one suspect dead and eight others on the run. Police say one of the apartment residents pulled the trigger.

Four people were inside the apartment at The Springs of Country Woods at 6995 S. 1030 East playing video games around 1:30 a.m. when they heard a knock at their door. One person went to the door, and eight to nine people tried to force their way in.

Sgt. John Salazar of the Midvale Police Department said, “He tried to push the door back closed when somebody stabbed him in the hand. Then they gained entry.”

The intruders forced the four residents into a back bedroom. One of the suspects struck a female. Her boyfriend came to her defense and fought one of the suspects. He got a hold of the suspect’s gun and fatally shot him.

Gunmen rob Midvale restaurant 05-05-2009

Police say two men dressed in dark clothing and bandanas entered Polito’s restaurant at 265 W. 7200 South around 10:30 p.m. They demanded money at gunpoint from the cashier and cook.

While the gunmen were taking them to the back of the store, the victims escaped. The suspects didn’t follow. Instead they tried to get cash from the register and a safe.

Intruders ransack SLC home, attack occupants 04-17-2009

Salt Lake City police arrested a 20-year-old man Thursday evening — four days after they say he helped invade a home on Easter Sunday and attack the people inside.

A man living in the home, near 700 South and 600 East, woke up early Sunday when he heard someone tapping at his bedroom door, according to police.

Thinking it might be one of his roommates, he opened the door and found two men with handguns. One of them hit him in the head with the gun, cutting his forehead.

He was then forced into the bathroom along with another man living at the home.

The two intruders took turn standing guard at the bathroom door while the other rummaged through the home, according to an affidavit filed with the Salt Lake County jail.

At one point, one attacker set down his gun while the other dared the victims to pick up the firearm while he threatened them with a kitchen knife.

3 burglary suspects caught in the act 4-08-2009

This one is close to home as the victim was our server today at lunch and she told us she had to leave because they just busted people burglarizing her house.

How many Burglaries are there in the World? 04-07-2009

Did you know that America has more burglaries than any other country in the world?

Not ‘lovin’ it,’ he shoots Mickey D’s drive-through 03-30-2009

When a clerk told her the restaurant was serving only items from the breakfast menu, the woman drove to the second window, police said. Two men got out of the car, and one pulled a sawed-off shotgun out of the trunk, police said. He fired once or twice into the drive-though window before the two men and the woman left on 500 South and turned north on 300 West, police said.

The Intrepid was last seen going west over the viaduct on 400 South. The shooter was described as Polynesian, 6 feet 1 inch tall, with long hair in a ponytail, a beanie cap and a white T-shirt, police said

2nd West Valley shooting startles residents 3-27-2009

WEST VALLEY CITY — A drive-by shooting gave residents who live near Redwood Road and 2700 South a scare Friday afternoon. It was the second drive-by in a day for that area.

A neighbor called 911 after hearing gunshots and gave police a description of the car involved.

Police: Gang shooting could result in bigger retaliation

Six known gang members are behind bars, accused in an overnight crime spree. West Valley police say the six men are part of the Tiny Oriental Posse Gang, known as the T.O.P.

Police say early Friday morning the group targeted a rival gang member’s house at 3299 W. Brookway Dr. in West Valley City. Police say there is a long history of violence between the T.O.P. and the O.L.G., which stands for the Oriental Laotian Gangsters. Police believe Friday morning’s somewhat small attack on a O.L.G. gang member could mean a bigger retaliation.

West Valley City police Lt. Bill Merritt said, “Often times they don’t need any more motivation than the fact that somebody is a member of a rival gang, that’s good enough for them.”

Convicted killer a free man after serving 5 years 03-10-2009

The triggerman in a deadly 2003 shooting at a Park City nightclub got a light sentence because no one dared testify against him. Now he’s out, and once again fear has gripped those who know him and those who witnessed the violent crime.

Finau Tukuafu served the maximum time for his third-degree homicide conviction. Because of that, he’s not on probation or parole, so tonight law enforcement has no idea where he is.

Tukuafu walked out of prison a free man in January, five years after gunning a man down in a crowded nightclub. Had prosecutors been able to make the case for first-degree murder, he could have been in there for life, but reluctant witnesses broke their case.

Would-be robber killed in fight with store clerk 03-09-2009

CENTERFIELD — A man was killed in a struggle for his gun when he tried to rob a Centerfield convenience store early Monday morning. Police arrived to find the man dead on the store’s floor.

According to investigators, the man approached one of the clerks at the Walkers convenience store off Highway 89 on the border between Gunnison and Centerfield at about 12:20 a.m. as she was taking out the garbage at closing. He took her hostage at gunpoint. He then went in the store and took the other clerk hostage as well.

He forced them to tie each other up so he could steal the money. However, one of the clerks fought back and got the robber’s gun, a.22 caliber rifle, away from him. That is when one of the clerks used the suspect’s gun to shoot and kill him.

Police: Ill. pastor deflected gunshot with Bible 03-08-2009

Illinois State Police say the pastor gunned down at a church in a St. Louis suburb used a Bible to deflect the first of four rounds fired during his Sunday sermon.

Investigators looking into rash of robberies 03-05-2009

“The second time, he was brandishing the gun, and that’s an escalation of violence, and that has us concerned for what may be next.”

Men beaten and robbed while working in shed

You’ve heard of taking it to the woodshed. That’s what happened to four men in Ogden who were attacked and robbed. 02-11-2009

The victims were beaten and robbed on Jan. 27 in a storage shed near 1300 West and 3300 South as they were trying to fix a snowblower. One man had his jaw broken.

7 people in custody in connection with murder and robberies 02-06-2009
This golf course is right next to my work. I literally look out over this course.

While police were investigating three overnight robberies at 7-Eleven convenience stores, they received a tip that led themto a body at the West Ridge Golf Course at 5055 West Ridge Blvd.

Officers found the body around 4:30 a.m. They have not identified the dead man but say he is in his early 20s and is associated with a robbery suspect.

“The person has evidence of some trauma. I really can’t say what that is yet because he hasn’t been really examined, and we’ll have to wait until the medical examiner does an autopsy to find out exactly what type of trauma,” said West Valley police Capt. Tom McLachlan.

Police believe he was killed at the golf course.

McLachlan added, “The robberies and the body were, I don’t want to say part of a single criminal episode, but these people, at one time or another, were with each other last night.”

The three 7-Elevens were robbed at gunpoint within an hour of each other last night.

Teen shot three times outside restaurant

A fight in the parking lot at a West Valley shopping center took a potentially deadly turn when a 15-year-old was shot three times after pulling out a machete.

Police trying to identify convenience store robber 01-01-2009

Police are searching for a man who robbed a Midvale convenience store at knife point this afternoon. Investigators say the man stepped into the 7-Eleven at 8000 S. State St. around 4:15 pm.

Armed gunmen rob residents of Murray home 12-31-2008

Police in Murray are searching for three suspects who broke into a home tonight and robbed the people inside at gunpoint.

The three suspects entered a home near 6600 South and 700 West at around 7:45 p.m. Inside they found a woman and two children.

The suspects tied up the woman, then got away with a large safe and some other items in the home. Once they left, the woman freed herself and ran to a neighbor’s house and called 911.

Police looking for serial robber in Salt Lake Valley 12-23-08

Law enforcement agencies in the Salt Lake Valley are looking for a man involved in a string of robberies, many of which have happened at ATMs.

There were seven robberies in West Valley, including four at ATMs; one attempted robbery in Taylorsville; and two robberies in Salt Lake County. Police believe the same man is behind them all.

“We have a great concern that his attempts could be violent. I think there’s a high probability that he may be addicted to narcotics and may get desperate,” said Capt. Tom McLachlan, spokesman for the West Valley Police Department. He says the robberies have all happened over the last six weeks.

Sandy police look for home invasion robbers 12-22-08

The woman told police the men forced their way into the house near 200 East and 10600 South just after 9:30 last night. She says was shaken awake in her bedroom by four men carrying guns and wearing ski masks. She says they demanded money and then used a rope to tie her up.

The intruders forced her to open a safe inside the house and took the money. Her husband, who was not home at the time of the robbery, says there was $50,000 to $80,000 in cash and several guns in the safe. The woman says the suspects then fled the residence on foot.

Salt Lake cops looking for home invaders 12-17-08

Salt Lake City police were looking for four suspects in an overnight home invasion robbery.

Police say the incident began at 1503 East Harvard Avenue when four gun-toting men wearing hoodies and masks overpowered a resident of the home who was outside smoking. The forced him inside, and then beat him and two other residents before taking off with electronics and other items.

The home invasion was the second one this week in the capital city. On Monday night, three baseball-bat wielding men broke into a home near 300 S. Pueblo Street, beat several residents and demanded “stuff.” They left with just $20.

Man meets burglars at the door with a gun 12-16-08

Two would-be burglars encountered an armed homeowner in Ogden. Now one man is in jail and police are looking for another.

It happened this morning when two men started banging on the door of Steven Cross’ home at 214 East 19th Street. Cross met them at the door with a 9-millimeter handgun.

“One of them, he claims, turned and fired a shot at him. And so, when that happened, Mr. Cross fired at him. No one was hit,” Sangberg said.

Sangberg says police almost immediately recognized one suspect from a description. They say 31-year-old Michael Shawn Toles had been arrested for trespassing last week. Police believe he was checking out potential burglary targets.

2 men arrested for attack outside department store 12-8-08

Two men are in police custody this morning after allegedly threatening a shopper in the parking lot of a West Valley department store.

Police say the two approached a man outside the Kohl’s store near 5600 West and 3100 South around 9:30 p.m. Sunday. They allegedly demanded money then hit the man over the head with a beer bottle.

Provo girl hides from home intruder 12-5-08

Girl hides in shower and calls 911 but is too scared to answer. Police arrive just in time to catch man walking out of the house.

Armed robbers break into Salt Lake home 12-2-08

Armed robbers stormed a Salt Lake City home overnight and terrorized five people inside.

It happened near 1700 South and 400 East. Three men carrying guns forced their way into the home just after midnight.

Five people, three men and two women, were inside the house at the time. They told police that the intruders took two of them, tied them up and put blankets over their heads. The robbers then took the other three people, forced them into a back room and then continued to search the home.

Lt. Fred Louis with the Salt Lake City Police Department said, “They went through the home, searching each room. They removed the two laptops, the gaming systems and a cell phone and then fled from the residence.”

The victims told police that the suspects were wearing masks and dressed in dark clothing. They said the three men did not say much as they searched the home.

“They were wearing masks, so it was hard to tell exactly who they were. But as far as we can tell, the occupants do not know the suspects,” Louis said.

None of the people inside the home at the time the three men broke in was seriously injured. However, Louis says everyone was shaken up.

Police think the suspects randomly chose the house to target.

Stabbing victim dies 11-30-08

Police searching for credit union robber 11-25-08

We often think the bank is a safe place… Not for the Desperate.

Gunman tries to steal car at stoplight 11-24-08

This is one of the main reasons I started carrying a gun to work. A man tried to get into my jeep at a stop light.  It was a summer evening and my top was off. He tried to jump in and I pushed him out and drove off as the light turned green. What if it hadn’t turned green?

Police search for robber who attacked woman 11-23-08

West Valley Police are looking for man who tried to sexually assault a woman this evening.

Police say the woman’s bird was making noise, so she went to check it out. She found the man standing in her kitchen trying to rob her.

The man pushed her to the ground, beat her up and tried to assault her. She fought him off and the man took off on foot.

Criminals use new trick to get inside Utah homes 11-13-08

In Draper, a couple was disturbed late at night by a man at their door who was tied up with duct tape and screaming for help. The couple didn’t open their door but called police. Before officers arrived, the man had run off.

The Draper City Police Department said this type of strategy was fairly common. Suspects put on an act to gain entry into a home and then commit a crime. And although officers said this happened frequently, they also said they’d never seen anything this dramatic.

Think how many times you have been in fast food restaurant… What is your exit strategy? Where is your family?

Sandwich shop robbed in Midvale 11-12-08

Police are looking for a man who robbed a Midvale sandwich shop.

Officers say the robber entered the Subway restaurant on State Street last night just before closing and ordered an employee into the back room. Once there, he threatened the employee with a gun and made them open the safe. After getting the money he took off.

This is not the first person arrested in Utah for this crime… Its not uncommon.

UHP trooper arrests man for impersonating a police officer 11-11-08

20-year-old Cooper Deters, was dressed in police-type clothing and combat boots. As troopers searched his truck, they found more evidence, things normal drivers wouldn’t carry: a notepad filled with license plate and police dispatch numbers, flex-cuffs and guns.

“He’s got a loaded up AK 47 ready to rock and roll in there, an emergency service jacket that you’d throw on to make you look like you’re someone official,” a trooper says on the video.

Man arrested for allegedly robbing teen of his $40 paycheck 11-11-08

Robert Taylor, 21, was arrested after police say he used a BB gun that looked like a real gun to rob a teenager of his fast-food restaurant paycheck.

On Oct. 19, officers responded to a reported armed robbery at 100 E. State St. in Lehi. Police say the suspect pointed the gun at the teen’s face and demanded money. All the teen had was a cell phone and his $40 KFC paycheck, which he handed over.