Surveillance inside home helps nab 5 teens for alleged home invasion in Mesquite

Composite image with background photo of Mesquite Police Patrol vehicles and overlay of police badge | Photos courtesy of the Mesquite Police Department, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Five Salt Lake teens, including three juveniles, were arrested Friday after a homeowner called emergency dispatch to report a break-in.

L-R: Pole Singoma, 19, and Mohamed Mohamed, 18, both from Salt Lake City, booking photos taken in Clark County, Nev., March 19, 2021 | Photos courtesy of the Mesquite Police Department, St. George News

Shortly after noon on Friday, officers were dispatched to a home invasion reported at a residence on Valley View Drive in Mesquite after the homeowner called emergency dispatch to say there were five suspects inside the home who had broke into the residence, according to a statement released by the Mesquite Police Department.

The caller told dispatch they were watching a live feed from their surveillance system, which allowed them to watch the crime in real time, and according to the statement, the footage made it possible to provide police with a description of the suspects and where each of the five were located inside of the residence, updates that were continuously provided to dispatch while officers were en route to the call.

Officers arrived within minutes and as they contained the area surrounding the home they found one of the suspects, a juvenile, sitting inside a vehicle parked near the residence. Officers would later learn the car was reported as allegedly stolen prior to the incident.

Mesquite Police Sgt. Wyatt Oliver told St. George News that four suspects were still inside the home when the driver was being arrested, and all four ran out the front door, “but as soon as they spotted the officers they turned and immediately ran back inside,” he said, adding that they appeared to be very shocked and unaware that officers were already on scene.

The group continued running through the home and then exited through the back door and fled from the immediate area on foot.

Meanwhile, several neighbors alerted by the commotion watched as the suspects ran through the neighborhood and were able to provide pursuing officers with information on the direction the group was heading.

Oliver went on to say that two young boys also spotted the suspects running and were able to provide officers with location information as well as where several items taken from the home were abandoned by the teens as they continued running from police.

The efforts of the young boys were highlighted on the Mesquite Police Department’s Facebook page, Oliver said, which stated the children were “excited to help catch the bad guys.”

Evidence collected during reported home invasion allegedly involving 5 Utah teens in Mesquite Nev., March 19, 2021 | Photo courtesy of the Mesquite Police Department, St. George News

All four suspects ran into a park and as they attempted to hide, they were spotted by a detective in an unmarked vehicle who relayed the information to pursuing officers. Minutes later the teens were safely taken into custody by police.

Detectives arrived to process the scene and collect the surveillance footage, which is when they located multiple items that were discarded by the suspects during the foot pursuit — including a loaded .380 handgun.

Two adults, 18-year-old Mohamed Mohamed and 19-year-old Pole Singoma, both from Salt Lake City, were arrested and transported to the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada where each face two felony charges – including one count each of home invasion with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to possess a stolen vehicle.

The three remaining suspects, identified as juveniles, were also from Salt Lake City. They were arrested on multiple charges, including felony home invasion with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to possess a stolen vehicle and possession of a stolen vehicle. Each also faces one count for an open container of alcohol in a vehicle and minor in possession of alcohol. The teens were transported to the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Oliver said the incident was resolved quickly without any injuries, “which is always a good thing.”

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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