UTAH COUNTY, Utah, Feb. 19, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A Brigham Young University student is facing two felony burglary charges after he allegedly accessed an underground tunnel system in order to steal food.
A probable cause statement from Utah County said Spencer Gregg Taylor, 19, is facing two charges of burglary; enters building unlawfully, a third-degree felony.
On Feb. 16, a BYU employee in the Culinary Support Center was startled when he ran into a male wearing a black mask and black clothing inside the building after hours and the building was locked, the statement said.
“The employee asked the man who he was and the subject ran away,” the statement said. “Officers responded and determined that the suspect had accessed the building through an underground tunnel system. The area was checked but the suspect was not located. On cameras it appeared that the suspect was holding a food item in his hand when he fled and returned to the tunnels.”
Cameras were checked and the alleged suspect was found entering Heritage building 15, which is a residence hall for full-time BYU students, a few minutes after the employee had encountered the suspect, the statement said. The suspect was identified by his card access into the building as Taylor, who is a resident of Heritage 15 and a current BYU student, the statement said.
On Tuesday, the arresting officer went to the residence hall and made contact with Taylor, who allegedly admitted that he was the suspect who had been confronted in the Culinary Support Center Sunday night.
After being read his Miranda rights, Taylor admitted that, during the last month, he has accessed the tunnel system three times. Two of those times he went inside the building and stole food products that he later ate at his dorm.
He was transported to Utah County Jail with his bail set $5,000.
