By JONATHAN BAGLEY
Salt Lake Police captured three men suspected of robbing four Provo businesses within the last 10 days.
Though Capt. George Pierpont of the Provo Police Department thinks the suspects committed the burglary at Last Stop Auto Sales, there is not enough evidence to believe all of them were done by the same group.
Rick Gubler, a salesman at Last Stop Auto Sales, said the thieves kicked down the front door.
'It was easy to do,' Gubler said. They stole a computer, fax machine, phones and 225 company checks.
'They took the checks to places like Smith's to cash them,' Gubler said. 'They would say the checks are payroll checks, and make them out to themselves on stolen ID's.'
Gubler said the burglars wrote out $12-15,000 to themselves with the checks. He said he does not believe Last Stop Auto Sales will recover that money from them.
Pierpont said the Provo police were able to trace the checks the criminals forged back to the suspects. There were no stolen checks from any of the other businesses.
Captain Pierpont said the thieves in the four burglaries use the same 'modus operandi,' but Detective Dan Stowe told him there is not enough evidence to believe the thieves are the same people.
However, police are not looking for anyone else that may have committed the crimes. 'We're focused on the people in the Salt Lake County jail,' Pierpont said.
Steve Whitlock, owner of Whitlock Auto Body said his front window was smashed. All of his computer equipment was stolen, but his checks were not. 'Fortunately our checks were not stolen. We keep them somewhere out of the way,' he said.
Whitlock said without computers his business could not make estimates on auto repairs.
'We had to order all new equipment,' Whitlock said. 'They have wreaked havoc from Spanish Fork to Salt Lake.'
Whitlock Auto Body is operating and they have installed an alarm, Whitlock said.
Pierpont said police have not recovered the stolen property. Without the property the police cannot prove the thieves they have captured committed the other crimes, he said.
' are floaters. They go all over the state, and have no permanent residency. They stay in motels,' Pierpont said.