Three Tooele residents are facing criminal charges after they allegedly attempted to burglarize a Kennecott facility earlier this month.
Joseph Arnold Bowers, 39, Jenolichii Penitoe Bins, 49, and Sherrie Goff, 52, are each charged with third-degree felony burglary and third-degree felony theft. Goff and Bowers are also charged with second-degree felony theft by receiving stolen property.
Tooele County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Smelter Road on reports of trespassing on Kennecott property late on Oct. 5, according to a probable cause statement. Kennecott security observed an SUV on the property parked behind a warehouse with the headlights off.
Deputies first made contact with Bins, who was at the gate leading to the property, the statement said. There was a warrant out for his arrest and Bins was taken into custody.
Deputies continued onto the property and found an SUV parked on the side of the road, with Goff alongside it, according to the statement. The horn alarm of the SUV was going off just as deputies made contact.
Goff said she was alone and told deputies she set the alarm off on accident, the statement said. In the back of the SUV, two large batteries and core samples from the Kennecott facility were clearly visible.
During a search of the vehicle, a loaded handgun was found in a backpack on the backseat, according to the probable cause statement. The handgun was listed as stolen out of Elko County, Nevada, and the backpack also contained stolen wires from the warehouse, also in plain sight.
While searching the vehicle, Bowers was discovered hiding in the bushes near the vehicle with the car keys, the statement said. He was wearing camouflage clothing.
Kennecott security confirmed the stolen items were Kennecott property and took custody of the items. Bowers and Goff were arrested on burglary and theft charges.
After his initial appearance in 3rd District Court on Monday, Bowers is scheduled to return for a scheduling conference on Oct. 30 at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Matthew Bates. Bins’s bail was set at $5,000 and is scheduled to return to court for a scheduling conference on Oct. 23 at 9 a.m. before Bates.
During her initial appearance in 3rd District Court, Goff was assigned $10,000 bail and is scheduled to return to court for a scheduling conference on Tuesday at 9 a.m.