A 28-year-old Provo man was in the Utah County jail Thursday facing car theft, arson and other charges thanks to an alert and observant citizen, police say.
Provo Police Chief Rick Gregory said the suspect was arrested Tuesday afternoon, just hours after police found a car — reported stolen earlier — burning near the Boulders Apartments complex at 750 South 650 West.
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"When the first officer arrived on scene he ran the license plate on the vehicle, and discovered that the vehicle had been stolen from the same complex earlier that morning. A short time later a citizen called in and identified the person who [allegedly] had stolen the vehicle and set it on fire," the chief said.
The suspect, who was also being sought on a previous arrest warrant related to an alleged probation violation, was spotted at the Provo Towne Center Mall soon thereafter. Officers took him into custody and booked him into jail on suspicion of felony vehicle theft, burglary and arson, as well as misdemeanor hit and run. He was being held in lieu of $10,000 cash-only bail.
Gregory said the arrest was "a great example of the partnership we want to develop with our community. This crime could very easily have gone unsolved. We simply cannot accomplish our goals to reduce and solve crimes without the help and assistance we receive from concerned citizens."
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