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Jed Boal Reporting"They sure didn't have a good answer for why they did it. They thought it would be neat to get police equipment."
Salt Lake County Sheriff's detectives struck back at thieves who stole from patrol cars, and came away with even more stolen property.
Patrol cars parked at deputies' homes on the west side of the valley were the targets. It's a bold move to steal guns from cops. Seven young suspects, several of them juveniles, will find out just how foolish that was.
The Sheriff's Office feels confident it got back what it lost, and even more from other thefts.
SWAT teams from West Jordan, the Department of Public Safety and Salt Lake County raided homes in Kearns two nights ago. They were on the hunt for firearms, handcuffs, bulletproof vests and police ID's stolen from patrol cars during the past two weeks.
No recovery that night, but detectives busted two men who led them to this stash and five other suspects.
Det. Mike Lee, Salt Lake Co. Sheriff's Office-Kearns Precinct: "We're happy to get these guns off the streets and get these guys that are doing it behind bars."
Detectives recovered military-style police rifles, handcuffs, ammunition, police ID's, night sticks and a laser gun used for speed enforcement. The thieves stole stuff police do not want on the streets.
Det. Mike Lee: "They thought it would be neat to get police equipment. They said they were going to sell the bulletproof vests, those are a hot commodity on the street right now."
Detectives also seized cell phones, credit cards, four separate long guns, stereos and computer equipment stolen from civilians. They even came away with drug paraphernalia and marijuana.
County policy requires deputies to secure weapons inside the patrol car. The detective says secured firearms were stolen.
Det. Mike Lee: "Just breaking out a passenger window and taking out windows as quickly as they could."
Investigators say the suspects have past gang associations, but cannot confirm this was gang related activity.
Det. Mike Lee: "We recovered the majority of the property that was missing. Just a few more items that were outstanding we're trying to still get."
Detectives are still talking to suspects to see if there are more thieves and more stolen items tied to this investigation.
