How to avoid being robbed blind by scammers

By Spencer Burt

Police said they want to help citizens protect themselves from identity theft and fraud after a Logan woman looking to sublet her apartment became the victim of an attempted scam on Tuesday afternoon.

Capt. Curtis Hooley said a woman in her early 20s called the police to report possible fraud. A potential subtenant sent her a check for $5,500 and asked her to cash it, keep the $750 for the security deposit, then send the rest of the money back to him. She called the police before taking any action, which Hooley said is the best thing to do in a suspicious situation like that. He said the department gets reports of fraud daily.

Whether the police are able to take any action against a fraudulent scheme, Hooley encourages everyone to call about suspected scams. "If it's happening locally, we can investigate it," he said. Usually the phone calls or emails come from out of the state or country. "Either way, if someone is a Logan citizen, then we would like to know about it right away so we can help."

He said the department reaches out through Facebook about once a year to educate the public about the warning signs of scams, fraud and identity theft.

Danny Weidman was also targeted by a real estate scam in December. His first clue was when, after only two hours of emailing, a landlord offered him a lease. Then he asked Weidman to send the deposit in the mail and then he would mail the key in return. At that point, he decided to drive past the address listed in the ad. There was a "for sale" sign in the front yard, and the name and phone number were actually that of the landlord at his current apartment. Weidman called his landlord immediately and told her what happened. She contacted police, but they were unable to find where the perpetrator was emailing from.

Brandon Hadley, another target of failed real estate scams, had some tips for spotting fraudulent offers. He has had it happen three times, and each time the scammer posed as a landlord and communicated only via email. He said the most clear sign was that the "landlord" in each situation happened to be out of the state or country and offered to mail the keys to him after only emailing back and forth three times or less.

"The second biggest giveaway was that they always asked me to wire the money," Hadley said. "It's just such an outdated way of doing business that I knew it was a scam."

Fatal accident causes concern for pedestrian awareness and safety

By Spencer Burt

A pedestrian was hit by a car and killed in Logan on Friday night, and police are concerned with the frequency of pedestrian accidents due to negligence.

Otto Kalman, an 84-year-old man, was crossing 100 East at about 450 North when an 18-year-old woman struck him with her car while driving southbound. He was taken to Logan Regional Hospital and was pronounced dead.

Capt. Tyson Budge said the driver will most likely not face any charges. "It was just dark and rainy, and she didn't see him till it was too late," Budge said. 
Incidents like this can be very traumatic for the drivers, so she was not informed of the outcome until some time after the accident when she had family or friends around to provide support.

"There's been way too many pedestrians getting hit lately, and it's usually because they're crossing in the wrong spot," he said. "Don't ever assume that a car sees you." 

Budge said the department would like to better educate pedestrians on the importance of using crosswalks, but they don't have a solid plan to do that yet.

They do perform regular "enforcement" projects to educate drivers on yielding to pedestrians. Officers in civilian clothes will cross a street using a crosswalk, and if the approaching car doesn't stop at a safe distance, then surrounding officers will pull the individual over. In these instances, the officers will talk to them to educate them, but not cite them.

Todd Royce of the Utah Highway Patrol said the Utah Highway Safety Office is working along with the Utah Department of Transportation on some pedestrian safety initiatives, but no details have been released yet.

Eleven arrested at Factory party on Friday

By Spencer Burt

Logan police arrested 11 individuals on drug and alcohol-related charges at The 900 Factory apartments Friday night.

At approximately 11 p.m., police received a noise complaint from a resident at the complex. When officers arrived at the apartment, they could see alcohol from the doorway and detected the odor of marijuana, which they confirmed after receiving a search warrant.

The tenant of the apartment was charged with possession of marijuana.

According to Capt. Tyson Budge, the officers performed breathalyzer tests on all partiers under 21, and only one was allowed to leave. The rest were charged with being minors in possession of alcohol. Budge said everyone was very cooperative, and for that reason they were all cited and released on the scene with nobody taken into custody. He said a minor's first possession conviction generally puts him or her on probation for a year in addition to the fine.

Rachel Romney, the property manager at the 900 Factory, said that alcohol is completely against the rules in the apartment complex. 

"We're happy that the police do what they do to keep our residents safe," she said. "We want all our residents to have a safe living environment, and we have no tolerance for that. I think the students' parents appreciate it too."

K-9 unit helps police make three arrests this weekend

By Spencer Burt

The Logan City Police Department made three separate drug-related arrests with the help of its K-9 unit this weekend.

According to Lt. Brad Franke, all three of these occurred as a result of traffic stops. They were unrelated, but they were all found to be in possession of narcotics.

"Officers can request the K-9 unit to do an open-air sniff during any traffic stop, as long as it doesn't delay or extend it beyond the normal amount of time," Franke said. "Usually that's about 10 minutes."

If the dog is alerted to the scent of narcotics around the vehicle, the police are able to extend the time of the stop and perform a search.

Franke said the department has two police dogs and two certified dog handlers. These officers are sent to a training facility in Indiana for six to eight weeks before they become certified. 

"These are drug detection dogs, but they're also trained in tracking people and apprehension," Lt. Bret Randall said. In Logan, they are mostly used for open air sniffs around vehicles during traffic stops. Randall said they sometimes perform up to nine sniffs in one night.