This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A female burglary suspect was speedy, hitting two Orem homes and as many vehicles inside a half-hour period. It was her final victim selection that put her behind bars, however.
Orem police Lt. Craig Martinez said that the second of the homes the woman hit on Monday night belonged to an OPD sergeant.
The 24-year-old Orem woman's alleged crime spree began about 8:30 p.m. Monday at a residence in northwest Orem, after she gained entry by asking the homeowner if she could use his bathroom. When the homeowner heard the woman rummaging around inside the bathroom, he became suspicious and when he found money had gone missing, he called police.
"When our patrol officer arrived, the suspect was just leaving the victim's home," Martinez said. "[The officer] talked to [her] and found out that she did in fact steal money from the victim."
The woman was cited and released after returning the money to the homeowner.
About 30 minutes later, police received another call, this one from the OPD sergeant. Again, she had used the bathroom ploy, this time gaining entrance from the sergeant's wife.
"When the sergeant's wife told him that a woman had asked to use the bathroom, he, too, heard [the suspect] rummaging around. He opened the door and found her searching the bathroom cabinet. He identified himself as a police officer, handcuffed her and held her until [the patrol officer] arrived."
After the arrest, police discovered more cash on the suspect. Police believe that in between her bogus bathroom visits the woman also had broken into two cars.
She was booked into the Utah County jail on suspicion of two counts of residential burglary.
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