Months of massage parlor burglaries in Glendale end in arrest - The Arizona Republic

[Miguel Torres]

Glendale police arrested a man on Sept. 18 alleged to be responsible for a string of massage parlor burglaries in the Valley. According to police, he would use a pry bar to break in and threaten employees.Mitchell Briggs, 23, was accused of burglarizing a spa and several massage parlors, using tools to remove glass panels from the front windows of the businesses to gain entry.

According to court documents, on July 4, when a massage parlor had been burglarized, one of the women working there told police that she saw Briggs entering and immediately ran out of the building. Security footage allegedly showed Briggs dressed in black and rummaging through drawers, police noted in court documents.

On Sept. 8, Glendale officers responded to another robbery at a massage parlor on Cactus Road. Surveillance video from the business showed a maroon Dodge Charger with silver rims pulled up to the front. A man dressed in black once again used a tool to remove the glass from the window to gain entry.

The video also showed the man using a pry bar on a metal security gate to access the back of the business, where he struggled with an employee, court documents state. After the altercation, the man used the pry bar to threaten the employee, forcing them to retreat. He then stole $500 from a black bag.

Glendale officers used the department's Real Time Crime Center cameras to identify the license plate of the maroon Charger, confirming the owner as Briggs, according to court documents.

Later that day, at a different massage parlor on Peoria Avenue, police responded to another burglary. This time, a man dressed in black, who police also identified as Briggs, was seen approaching the business and putting on a face mask. According to surveillance footage, Briggs allegedly removed the front window panel to enter the business and attempted, unsuccessfully, to access the safe before fleeing, police state in court documents.

Detectives obtained a search warrant to place a GPS tracker on the maroon Dodge Charger. On Sept. 10, officers tracked the car making multiple stops at businesses that had been burglarized, each with the front windows removed.

For the next several days, detectives surveilled Briggs, collecting evidence and photographs. On Sept. 18, Glendale police arrested Briggs as he left his house. A search of his home revealed $10,000 in cash deposits, pry bars and a ledger listing the addresses of 65 different massage parlors, some of which were crossed out in red ink, according to court documents.

Briggs faces 11 felony charges related to the burglaries, and court records indicate he has a lengthy criminal history and is on lifetime probation.