Provo Police arrested a local man last month involved in the robbery of five separate storage sheds that were broken into at 1630 South State Street in Provo on Oct. 30.
During the initial investigation of the units, a Provo patrol officer determined that the alleged thieves took mostly tools and stereo equipment in the range of several thousand dollars.
The Provo Special Enforcement Team was contacted by the officer for assistance in the investigation.
The S.E.T. is a group organized under the direction of Chief Rick Gregory in January of 2012 and, according to the Provo City website, was recently awarded the Special Agency Award by the Utah Narcotic Officers Association “for outstanding contribution to narcotic law enforcement.”
The team’s purpose is to “investigate local mid-level and street-level drug distributors, conduct local gang enforcement, assist other specialized units, as well as augment and assist the Utah County Major Crimes Taskforce.”
In this case, officers and the S.E.T. determined that 20-year-old Bruce Ray Olsen was allegedly involved in the burglaries and obtained a search warrant for his residence, known as The Watering Hole, located at 1616 South State Street.
A SWAT team consisting of Provo/Orem/BYU/UVU Metro SWAT members served the warrant and took Olsen into custody.
Provo Police Chief Rick Gregory commented in a press release following the investigation, stating, “This quick arrest was the result of the pro-active efforts of our patrol and Special Enforcement Team officers and their aggressive pursuit of justice.”
During the arrest officers located approximately $10,000 in alleged stolen property, including the items reported stolen from the storage sheds. The majority of the stolen property was quickly returned to its owners.
A Provo Police press release stated that “Bruce Ray Olsen was booked into the Utah County Jail on charges of burglary and possession of stolen property.”
