Four days after missing her arraignment, former Mapleton Controller Jeannie Bell traded a Las Vegas Strip hotel room for a cell in the Clark County Jail. Bell, who is facing a single count of theft, was apprehended

after the Central Utah Joint Apprehension Team, acting on tips, traced her to Las Vegas. Utah County sheriff's Lt. Darren Gilbert said the team worked with the U.S. Marshal's Office in Utah and Nevada to track down Bell.

"They did some whiz-bang stuff and found her room in the casino," Gilbert said. He declined to identify which casino she was found in.

She is awaiting an extradition hearing in Las Vegas.

Bell, 48, is facing a second-degree felony charge of theft, which carries a prison term of up to 15 years and up to a $10,000 fine. Prosecutors allege that between January 2007 and June 2009, Bell purchased stamps and gift cards with city money, sold them on eBay and pocketed the proceeds.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Craig Johnson said that Bell is believed to have stolen more than $5,000 from the city.

Bell was to have been in 4th District Court in Provo Nov. 5 for arraignment, but did not show up. Fourth District Judge James Taylor issued a no-bail warrant for her arrest.

Attempts to contact Douglas A. Baxter, Bell's attorney, were not successful Monday night.

Donald W. Meyers

 

Man pistol whipped, robbed of $3

South Salt Lake police

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have arrested two men who allegedly pistol-whipped an acquaintance and stole $3 from him. The 32-year-old victim said late Saturday night he drove two men, including a former coworker, to 200 E. 3400 South. There, the men demanded money at gunpoint. When he said he didn't have any, one man held him while the other hit him on the head with the gun. They took the $3 and left. Police arrested a 50-year-old homeless man and a 43-year-old West Valley City man in connection with the robbery.

 

SLC utilities worker injured on job

A Salt Lake City public utilities worker was injured Monday when a metal grate fell on his head.

The man in his mid-50s was doing some drainage work at 1700 South and 1000 West about 1 p.m. when he lifted a rectangular cast iron lid off a "cleanout box," said Mark Stanley, operations and maintenance superintendent. The lid fell down and hit him in the face, causing lacerations and possibly some fractures, said Scott Freitag, a Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman. The injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.