Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
LAYTON — A theft victim says his search for stolen tools accidentally led to a much larger discovery by police, and that man is thanking a little piece of technology for the big bust.
After 40 years in business, Mark Cox has learned a few things — like what tools he prefers.
Cox founded and manages Cool Cats Heating and Air. Standing in front of a work vehicle, Cox pulled out tool bags filled with a mixture of gadgets.
"They're very specific, and over the years I've picked the very best," he explained.
In his four decades of work, Cox has learned the particular uses for each tool.
"We've got specialty tools we use for refrigeration," he said, referring to devices that others would have no idea how to operate.
So when $6,500 worth of tools disappeared last week from his work truck parked in the driveway of his Farmington home, Cox had already learned a thing or two about being able to track them.
"We lost some tools about five years ago, and so I was wise enough to put an AirTag very well hidden in one of my tool cases," Cox said.
The Apple AirTag was nearly out of battery, but Cox could still see its location and said it showed a home address in Layton.
"I just felt so violated, and I knew where my tools were, and so I went and knocked on the door," he said about how he acted fast and went straight to the house.
"I had a kid come to the door and I just said, 'Hey, I want my tools. I want them now.' And he says, 'Hey, we don't know anything about that.' And I said, 'That's all right. I'll call the police,'" Cox recounted.
He walked back to his work truck, called for officers and waited. Cox said all of a sudden a man came back out of the home with Cox's stolen tools, telling him they didn't want any trouble.
By that time police were on their way.
When officers arrived, Cox began filming the situation and found out this was hardly the first time police had responded to that home.
In Cox's video, an officer is talking to three men and one woman who came out from inside the home, standing and sitting in the front yard.
"When we did the search warrant, what was it, four months ago? We've gotten the same reports that you guys are still doing criminal activity," the officer said to the group.
"This is a pretty serious situation," Cox expressed. "This is a house (officers) knew very well."
Layton Police Lt. Travis Lyman explained they've handled similar cases at that address involving people at that house.
This time, Cox's AirTag tracking led to quite a bust, as Lyman explained police obtained a search warrant for the home and recovered property stolen from all over, including from out of state.
"We did end up finding more tools inside belonging to other victims. We recovered two stolen motorcycles," he said.
Lyman said they arrested 26-year-old Conner Brown on suspicion of several counts of possession of stolen property. Lyman said the investigation is still active and additional charges, including drug-related charges, may be filed against others allegedly involved.
Lyman doesn't recommend personally showing up to retrieve stolen items and highly encourages anyone to call police before confronting suspects.
However, in this case, he expressed that Cox's AirTag hunt helped them.
"Possession of stolen properties — a pretty clean case, in this instance," Lyman said.
And it led to tracking down stolen property for more victims than just Cox.
"I just wanted to get my tools back," Cox said. "There was no damage, and everything was there. Thank heavens."
