TAYLORSVILLE, Utah – A Taylorsville woman was terrified Monday morning when she came face to face with a burglar inside her home.
The incident happened near 4700 South and 1500 West. Gina Beck said she tried to fight him off, but he grabbed her car keys and took off with her car.
Beck said she left her apartment around 7:45 a.m. to drop off her 5 year-old son at school. When she got back 20 minutes later, she noticed her son’s bedroom window was broken.
“I thought a child had thrown a rock or something,” said Beck.
Beck says the crack in her son’s bedroom window was small so she didn’t think anything was wrong. Then she opened her front door.
“A man came running out of my bedroom,” said Beck.
Beck screamed for him to get out.
“He stopped before he got to the door and told me to give my car keys so I said 'no, no, get out' and tried to keep the keys away from him, but he grabbed them and took them by force,” Beck said.
The man ran out of the house and took off in Gina’s car.
Unified Police said the suspect didn’t take anything from the home, but ransacked the bathroom.
“To me that says he wasn't in the house to steal property. He was looking for medication,” said Lt. Lex Bell with Unified Police Department.
Gina got a few scratches on her hand from her scuffle with the suspect.
Police said they will test the blood he left behind on the broken window to see if they can track him down. In the meantime, they’re asking for the public’s help.
The suspect is described as a white male in his 30’s. He was wearing jeans, a tool belt, and no shirt.
He stole a 2011 white, Ford Escape with Utah License Plate #D944XT.
If you have any information, call Unified Police at 801-743-7000.
Gina believes this may have been a crime of opportunity.
“I think I might have seen him when I was leaving with my son because he wasn`t wearing a shirt so that stood out,” said Beck.
She thought her home was safe because it’s close to the main road, but after this incident she realizes crime can happen anywhere. She’s grateful the suspect only got away with her car, and didn’t harm her or her son.
