TVPD News, Pages

Taylorsville Operation Leads to 10 Arrests, Recovery of Merchandise

Check this space each month for news about the Taylorsville Police Department (TVPD) and their valuable service to our community.

A multi-agency operation targeting retail thefts at stores in the Taylorsville area has led to the arrests of two California women suspected of stealing and engaging in fraudulent activity across several states.

Before they were arrested in Taylorsville, Darrian Deajurrey Williams, 29, of San Leandro, Calif., and Aubrianna Thompkins, 27, of Tracy, Calif., were recently jailed in Carson City, Nev., on multiple counts of alleged grand larceny, commercial burglary, conspiracy to obtain money using stolen credit cards and other offenses. They also match the description of two suspects wanted out of Rock Springs, Wyo., for wallet theft. The two were likely out on bail from Nevada before they were arrested in Taylorsville on suspicion of retail theft and drug possession, and Williams’ 2016 Mercedes-Benz with temporary tags was impounded.

The two were among 10 people arrested in a coordinated police operation over two days, on Dec. 7 and 8.

The women indicated to Taylorsville o cers that they were returning to California from Iowa. The women’s alleged MO involves distracting victims while shopping and stealing their wallets, to then quickly commit fraud by using the victims’ credit cards. The two attempted to steal victims’ wallets several times in Taylorsville but were unsuccessful.

The retail theft operation that led to their arrests was conducted in conjunction with the Utah Attorney General’s O ce CASE unit (Crimes Against Statewide Economy). Taylorsville Property Crimes Det. Jensen, who is assigned to the Attorney General's O ce, organized the operation, also teaming up with o cers from Sandy, West Jordan and the United States Department of Homeland Security, as well as store personnel and security from Target, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Sierra and Home Depot. Additionally, Amazon and eBay provided analysts in support.

The operation, involving two, four-hour shifts each day, resulted in the 10 arrests for theft-related crimes, drug o enses and outstanding warrants. With the assistance of Homeland Security, one person wanted for an aggravated re-entry was booked on a federal detainer. During one arrest following a retail theft, a suspect who was on parole ed o cers on foot, but he was stopped without incident a short distance away.

In addition to the Mercedes-Benz, one other car was impounded during the operation. In total, more than $1,000 in merchandise was recovered and returned to the stores.

“One of the goals of the operation was to develop information on where the stolen property goes after the theft and how, and what the thieves do with the property,” said Det. Jensen. “Information was gathered by detectives who will be conducting follow-up in hopes of developing more information on other criminals and organized groups.”

When Det. Jensen expressed his thanks to one of the store loss prevention employees for helping with the operation, the employee responded in a text, stating: “Are you kidding me? THANK YOU GUYS! All my associates were glued to the windows yesterday! Y’all gave a lot of our associates the biggest boost! And helped put con dence back in us, as LP (loss prevention). For that, I can’t thank you enough."

In addition to the supporting law enforcement agencies and participating stores, TVPD also expresses great appreciation to the Taylorsville Chick- l-A, which donated sandwiches for o cers and loss prevention employees working the operation.

TVPD EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

Congratulations to O cer List, our TVPD Employee of the Month. O cer List has served in law enforcement for more than 24 years. He has worked for both West Jordan and Taylorsville police departments.

O cer List has held various positions throughout his career, including patrol, motorcycle/tra c o cer, middle and high school resource o cer, child abuse investigator, commercial vehicle inspector, fatal traffic accident investigator, public information o cer, public tra c school instructor, police motorcycle operator instructor, police emergency vehicle operation instructor, citizen’s academy instructor and eld training o cer.

Officer List’s main responsibility with TVPD is working as a patrol o cer, in which he responds to any type of police call for service that can be imagined. Additionally, he is often assigned as a shift lead. The responsibilities of a shift lead are to supervise other o cers and monitor police calls for service when a sergeant is not available. O cer List has served in this capacity multiple times. It is for this reason that O cer Smith nominated O cer List as our most recent Employee of the Month. O cer Smith described O cer List as “professional and approachable,” “knowledgeable,” and one who is “always willing to jump in anywhere he can.”

O cer List is described as “always having a positive demeanor that is contagious to those around him, which creates a positive working environment.” Additionally, Of cer List was nominated for his role of being one of TVPD’s drone operators. TVPD has located and apprehended multiple suspects through the utilization of these drones.

In his free time, O cer List enjoys camping, riding dirt and street motorcycles, boating and spending time with his family. Thank you, O cer List, for your service and dedication to law enforcement and for choosing to be a part of Team Taylorsville!

2600 West Taylorsville Boulevard • 801-963-5400 | PAGE 5 TVPD Card Contest Showcases Students’ Artwork

Every year, the police department’s holiday card contest seems to grow, and this year was no exception. More than 150 drawings were submitted by Taylorsville fth-graders, which made selecting the winner di cult.

“The drawings are truly impressive,” said Mayor Kristie Overson. “We thank all the students who participated and also want to extend our heartfelt appreciation to all the teachers for helping to shape the future of these wonderful children.”

The artwork came from students throughout Granite School District's Taylorsville elementary schools, and the winning drawing was used as TVPD’s o cial holiday card. It will be announced at a City Council meeting this month and then shared in next month’s Taylorsville Newsletter.

Accompanying this article are a few of the outstanding drawings TVPD received. View more of them on TVPD’s Facebook page, @TVPDUtah. Mayor Overson and Police Chief Brady Cottam plan to take the contest winner out to lunch this next month in recognition.

Help First Responders, Make Your House Address Visible

It has become increasingly important for rst responders and other service providers to be able to locate addresses quickly and e ciently. Requirements for properly identifying a building are outlined in city ordinance 2.49.060, “Display of Property Identi cation Numbers.” The city’s Code Enforcement personnel said it is a good reminder, as they have been seeing many homes with no address numbers lately.

When considering how best to display the address on your home or property, consider viewing its placement from the middle of the roadway before permanently a xing numbers. Often the address appears readable while standing next to the structure, but it may become obscured from the roadway due to its orientation.

CITY ORDINANCE SPECIFIES:

• Addresses must be a minimum size of 4 inches for residential properties, 6 inches for commercial property. • Address placement should be made in a conspicuous location and include contrasting characters to enable the reader. • Avoiding all obstructions, including plants, trees, garbage containers, vehicles and/or points where snow accumulates. • Multiple locations, including a mailbox, front porch and house, are acceptable.

However, your mailbox alone is not su cient as it generally limits size and visibility due to direction of travel.