ST. GEORGE, Utah — A recent string of burglaries at self-storage facilities throughout the St. George area finally came to a stop thanks to the staff at one targeted facility.
Starting on Nov. 8, there were a total of 15 burglaries at nine self-storage facilities through Friday, with 146 individual units hit by a burglar who targeted firearms, electronics, and jewelry in the heists.
"At the beginning of the week last week, I had been reading that some facilities and some other facilities and people's storage units had been getting broke into. I told some of our team members that we need to be on our highest alert," said St. George Storage owner Kile Curtis.
On Friday, for the second time, the crook tried breaking into units at Curtis' facility. The staff had previously recorded the suspect with their 60 cameras and Curtis said they were ready.
"It got my adrenaline pumping, that's for sure," Curtis admitted. "As soon as I confronted him, he got really defensive and jumped in his car and sped out of the area.
"Thanks to our law enforcement, they was able to catch him within 12 hours. They did awesome."
Aaron Mayeda Brewer was arrested, with the 34-year-old still being held at Purgatory Jail in Hurricane and facing multiple burglary and theft charges.
Officers said Brewer was wearing clothing that matched the suspect in the crime and the tread of his shoes matched markings at the broken-in units. They added that Brewer also had items that had been taken from units and admitted to police that they weren’t his.
According to court records, Brewer was placed on probation in September after pleading guilty to breaking into his mother’s home and damaging her phone and artwork. At the time of his most recent arrest, Brewer had an electronic locator on his ankle.
Along with crediting his staff, his security, and the police, Curtis said those who own storage units can take their own steps to make sure they’re protected.
"Make sure to check on [storage units] on a regular basis and take pictures of it," he instructed. "Every time you're in there, take pictures of what's in the unit, that way you'll know what you've got in there."
