This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Utah man's plan to steal 60 cases of shotgun shells sunk after his car's suspension failed to support his plans.
Duchesne County Deputy Wayland McGary said the 35-year-old was working for a company that was leasing space from the hunting reserve when he spotted a pallet full of shotgun shells.
Over the course of 1½ weeks, McGary said the man loaded 20 cases each time inside his Buick LeSabre and drove about 90 minutes from the Pleasant Valley Hunting Preserve, in Myton, to his house in Heber City.
Each of the three loads weighed about a half-ton, McGary said.
When the hunting reserve's owners noticed that the shells had gone missing, an employee recalled that the rear of the man's car had been riding closer to the ground than usual, so McGary called the man, and he allegedly admitted to stealing the shells.
McGary said the man told him that he had fallen on hard times "and when he saw them, he just saw dollar signs."
The man then agreed to return all 15,000 shells that he allegedly stole, McGary said.
The man is charged with theft, a second-degree felony, and is scheduled to be in 8th District Court Aug. 8.
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