Two people accused of burglarizing the home of a deceased woman in Salt Lake County are now facing charges in Summit County after they were arrested in connection with a house burglary and a theft at a store in the Kamas area.
On Tuesday, the Kamas Police Department and Summit County Sheriff’s Office arrested Salt Lake residents Michael C. Shields, 29, and 32-year-old Emily K. Houtz after the suspects stole beer and snacks from Kamas Food Town, said Detective Ron Bridge, a spokesman for the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
Officers began tracking the suspects on the East Side of Summit County when they received reports from officers in the Cottonwood Heights area that Shields and Houtz could possibly be in Kamas in a blue 2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser, Bridge said.
As the information came in from Cottonwood Heights, deputies in Summit County were responding to a report of a burglary at a house in Francis, Bridge said.
A witness who reported the burglary said the man and woman who broke into the home left the area in a blue PT Cruiser. The couple is accused of taking gas cans from the garage.
Shields and Houtz are suspects in the Francis burglary, Bridge said.
“They have been identified by the witness as the people that went into that garage and took those gasoline cans,” he said.
Bridge said he is not sure why the suspects targeted the home.
“The person’s house that they were burglarizing was deceased but it has been two years since they died. It is a well-known family house in the Francis area and one of the relatives of the owner actually observed the burglary take place,” Bridge said.
The two suspects were booked into the Summit County jail. Each is charged with burglary, which is a second-degree felony. Shields is also charged with one count of theft by deception, which is a class B misdemeanor. Houtz is charged with two counts of theft by deception, class B misdemeanors.
Shields and Houtz each made initial appearances in 3rd District Court this week. Roll call hearings for the suspects are scheduled Monday.