GARDEN CITY, Utah, Feb. 11, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A man was arrested after he installed a safe for a woman in Garden City — then allegedly came back and stole it.
A probable cause statement from the 1st District Court of Rich County said Jesse James Carlton, 33, is facing a charge of aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony.
On Saturday, the arresting officer was dispatched to a 911 call in which the caller stated that someone had broken into her home and was possibly still inside the residence, the statement said. Upon arrival, the victim indicated that the person was no longer there.
“I observed a large hole in the back of the closet leading into the adjacent storage warehouse,” the arresting officer wrote. “The victim told me that a safe had been broken off the wall and stolen, along with several boxes of .380 hand gun ammunition, along with four Harley Davidson shirts, and a Harley Davidson jacket with the name Sam on a patch on the chest. Inside the safe were two rings, and several documents including social security cards, vehicle titles, birth certificates, and credit cards.”
The safe also contained $50,000 cash in $100 dollar bills, and a thumb drive “with irreplaceable family photos,” the statement said.
The victim stated that Carlton, of Dingle, Idaho, had installed the safe for her. She asked him at the time if the safe was secure, and he stated that to steal the safe, someone would have to break into the warehouse and kick a hole in the wall in the back of the closet, as he pointed to the area where the hole was subsequently kicked in, the statement said.
The victim stated that Carlton had called the Chevron at 7:45 a.m. that same day, where the victim was working.
“She answered the phone and recognized Jesse’s voice when he asked if the victim was there, she indicated that it was her and he hung up,” the statement said. “The owner of the Chevron stated that the same person called on several previous occasions, asking for the victim; he stated that he recognized Jesse’s voice because Jesse’s girlfriend also works at the Chevron, and Jesse comes in frequently.”
Carlton had told several people that the victim still owed him money for work that he had not completed on the victim’s home, the statement said.
“Addition information given to me was that Jesse had been using methamphetamine heavily for the past couple of months and had sold several items to friends in order to buy drugs,” the statement said. “His girlfriend also stated to a coworker that Jesse had shot and killed her cat in the living room of their shared residence three weeks ago with a .380 hand gun.”
Upon service of search warrants in two locations, parts of the safe were recovered, along with two rings, and thumb drives containing personal family pictures.
Carlson was arrested and transported to Rich County Jail with his bail set at $5,000.
