'Cat burglar' nabbed in South Jordan

A man who South Jordan police say committed nearly a dozen burglaries since June was arrested at his home Monday morning.

The 32-year-old South Jordan man allegedly stole computers, credit cards and purses from cars and garages in the Daybreak neighborhood.

The man was discovered on multiple occasions by South Jordan residents but managed to escape from their garages by telling them he was searching for his cat.

"We had all these unusual calls from homeowners about a person in their garages looking for a lost cat," said South Jordan Police Master Officer Samuel Winkler.

Winkler estimated the total value of the stolen items at $10,000.

The suspected burglar allegedly pawned some of his loot and made purchases with the stolen credit cards. Surveillance footage taken from those locations matched with victims' description of the suspect, which helped police identify him, Winkler said.

The man was arrested about 10 a.m. and booked into the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of 10 counts of theft and burglary and one count of forgery.

hstevens@sltrib.com

Twitter: @Harry_Stevens