Man arrested twice in 22 hours for alleged vandalism at TRAX stations

Photos shared by Salt Lake County Sheriff

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 30, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — A man arrested just before 4 a.m. Tuesday for criminal mischief was rearrested less than 22 hours later after he was observed committing a similar act of vandalism.

Wilbert Edward Fike, 66, was arrested at 3:49 a.m. Tuesday by Salt Lake City police for investigation of:

  • Criminal mischief, loss of $1,500-$4,999, a third-degree felony

Fike was arrested at 1:19 a.m. Wednesday for investigation of:

  • Criminal mischief causing loss greater than $5,000, a second-degree felony
  • Interfere/interrupt critical infrastructure, a third-degree felony

Fike was released without bail in the first case after promising he would return for court dates to be scheduled and would not commit any crimes. After his Wednesday arrest, Fike was ordered held without bail.

The alleged damage in both cases was to machines at downtown TRAX stations.

The first incident happened at 55 S. Main, says a statement issued by the SLCPD public relations department.

“I observed (Fike) hitting the screen of a machine to a Trax station with a rock,” the arresting officer said in Fike’s probable cause statement.

“After detaining (Fike) and advising him of the Miranda Warning, (Fike) informed me that he did cause the same damage to all four machines at the Trax station where (he) was observed causing the damage.”

The victim/complainant, who reportedly observed the destruction, “advised me that each screen is approximately $500 dollars to replace, totaling to approximately $2,000 in damages,” the arrest document says.

Fike’s next arrest was at 1:19 a.m. Wednesday, at a TRAX station at 450 S. Main.

“I responded to a call for service regarding a vandalism in progress,” says Fike’s subsequent arrest document, filed by the same officer who had arrested him the day before.

Fike “informed me that he did indeed cause damage to property, post Miranda Warning. The property that was damaged was the ticket machine to a Trax station, which UTA is deemed Critical Infrastructure.

“I was advised that the property that was damaged totaled to over $5,000 in loss and (Fike) was also observed through surveillance cameras, damaging the property with a rock.”

Fike was ordered held without bail and, as of Wednesday afternoon, remained incarcerated at the Salt Lake County Jail.

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