WEST VALLEY CITY, Feb. 28, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A man who attempted to steal a trailer from a West Valley City Home Depot early Friday morning apparently did not notice the employee nearby, taking her break in her car.
“The night stocker was on her lunch break, in her car, and saw this guy back up his truck to a trailer, hook it up and take off,” Lt. Bill Merritt told Gephardt Daily.
“She knew that didn’t look right, so she called police and she did follow, giving updates on where the guy was.”
Police responded after the call, which came in just before 2 a.m., Merritt said.
The Home Depot employee did lose sight of the pickup driver briefly, then came upon the trailer, which had crashed into a parked car. The driver had left the scene on foot.
Merritt said he did not know the amount of damage caused to the parked car or the trailer. The trailer was an open model, priced at about $900, he said.
The employee could not give a detailed description of the suspect, but police did locate a man walking several blocks away, near 3100 South and 3150 West.
“They did find a gentleman walking up the street, and talked to him,” Merritt said. “He denied having been involved in the incident. He did have some warrants for his arrest.”
Police put in a call to the pickup truck’s registered owner, who did not pick up the phone, Merritt said. The walking man was booked on warrants, and detectives will follow up with the pickup’s owner to ask who was driving the vehicle at 2 a.m. Friday, he said.
