Man arrested after strange break-ins in Orem

OREM – Police are trying to figure out what was behind a pair of home burglaries, where the suspect was acting very odd.  Investigators say even the suspect doesn’t know what he was doing.

Police were called after a resident on 970 West called to say they watched a man break into their storage room on the side of their home. They went down to check it out, and Orem Police Lieutenant Craig Martinez says, “They found their neighbor there, pouring gasoline all over the place.”

Orem Police Lieutenant Craig Martinez says the couple identified the suspect as 19-year old Leonardo Barajas.  Shortly after, Barajas’ sister called police saying he had done the same thing there.  “In all, he entered two homes, forcibly, and broke property and dumped gasoline in both of them,” Martinez says.

Barajas reportedly says he remembers very little of what happened, and may have thought he was pouring gasoline into a lawnmower.  The probable cause statement says Barajas claims he took about five shots of whiskey.  Martinez says, “He was at .084, so, just above the legal limit when it comes to driving a motor vehicle, but, there’s a chance that he doesn’t drink all that often. He’s claiming he doesn’t really remember what happened, that morning.”