ABC4 Utah

Man allegedly steals hundreds from champagne bottle in girlfriend’s daughter’s room

(Tainui Wihongi, ABC4)

MILLCREEK, Utah (ABC4) — A man was arrested yesterday, Mar. 18, after allegedly taking cash from a champagne bottle in his girlfriend’s daughter’s room while the family was on vacation, according to a probable cause affidavit.

While on a family trip to Lava Hot Springs, the victim said she received phone notifications from her security camera placed in her bedroom. The camera detected movement and recorded “the entire criminal episode,” according to police.

Police say the 60-year-old suspect, identified by the victim as her mom’s boyfriend, allegedly entered her bedroom and used a screwdriver to open a large champagne bottle filled with the victim’s tip money. She told police she “works off tips” and had “well over one thousand dollars cash” in the bottle.

After returning home from the trip, the victim said the champagne bottle only contained about $700. The victim then reportedly confronted her mother’s boyfriend about the camera footage and missing cash when he allegedly said “he only took $80.” When speaking with police, the suspect did not comment on the incident, the affidavit said.

While in separate apartments, the suspect and the victim live in the same apartment complex, according to the affidavit. Police do not yet know how he entered the victim’s apartment.

The suspect has been convicted of several charges relating to theft.

The suspect has been booked in the Salt Lake County Jail facing one charge of burglary of a dwelling, a second-degree felony. His identity has been withheld to protect the identity of the victim and her family.