SANDY, Utah – Sandy police asked for the public’s help finding a burglary and vandalism suspect, and just minutes after his picture was shown on air Thursday a FOX 13 News tipster contacted police and identified the man.
Sandy police arrested 24-year-old Todd L. Meiners a few hours after receiving a tip from a viewer, who saw the surveillance images of the suspect police released.
Sgt. Jon Arnold, Sandy City Police Department, said the images of the suspect led to his arrest.
"It was the citizens who recognized him and gave us the tip,” he said.
Arnold said the tipster who saw the story told police Meiners lives in Draper.
"Draper PD went and picked him up for us, our detective interviewed him, and he admitted to this, and he was ultimately booked into jail,” Arnold said.
Meiners initially told police he was riding his skateboard past the home and only tried to fix the angle of the camera. Surveillance footage shows the suspect smashing the camera around 1 a.m. Monday before crossing the street to burglarize a van.
Arnold said this isn’t the first time they’ve encountered Meiners.
"He has other history with our police department as well, so we're aware of his history and the problems he creates in our community,” he said.
This marks the fifteenth time Meiners has been booked into jail since he turned 18 in 2007. In the past, he has been arrested for burglary, theft, credit card fraud and drug charges. Mieners was currently on probation after pleading guilty to felony theft charges in April. The judge in that case suspended a prison term for Meiners.
Arnold said Meiners may be connected to other crimes in the area.
"There were other crimes that have occurred recently in that area that we're in the process of trying to see if he's linked to those,” he said.
Meiners is in jail on vandalism and burglary charges.
