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Alexis Cortez, Ben Bradley
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PEORIA, AZ (AZFamily) — Authorities say a suspect has been arrested for allegedly breaking into several West Valley massage parlors over the summer.
Mitchell Briggs was taken into custody on Wednesday night, and investigators believe he could be tied to dozens of cases across the Valley.
Just after 2 a.m. on July 4, Glendale police responded to a reported burglary at a spa and massage business near 43rd and Olive avenues. A woman who works at the business called for help after seeing someone dressed in black and wearing a mask breaking into the building.
Police say the suspect got inside using a tool to carefully remove a glass panel from the front windows. The suspect is seen on surveillance video rummaging through drawers, but the owner later said he couldn’t find anything missing.
Around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 8, officers responded to a possible robbery at another massage parlor at 67th Avenue and Cactus Road. In this case, a similarly dressed suspect was captured on surveillance video driving up to the business in a Dodge Charger.
Documents say the man got inside by removing a glass panel and forced his way past the security door separating the lobby from the back rooms using a pry bar.
He then reportedly came across two employees sleeping in two separate back rooms. According to documents, he got into a struggle with one of them and threatened both with the pry bar. Police say he got away with $500.
Mitchell Briggs was taken into custody by Peoria and Glendale police on Wednesday night.(Maricopa County Sheriff's Office/Arizona's Family)
The Glendale Real Time Crime Center identified Briggs as the Charger’s registered owner through the license plate caught on surveillance video. According to documents, detectives learned that Briggs has a “lengthy” criminal history and is on lifetime probation for offenses including armed robbery, aggravated assault and kidnapping.
Later that same morning, police received a report that another massage parlor had been burglarized near 51st and Peoria avenues. After reviewing surveillance video, officers learned this break-in happened within the same hour as the earlier case.
With a signed search warrant, police placed a GPS device on the suspect’s vehicle the following day. Documents say the Charger made numerous stops on Sept. 10, where additional burglaries and robberies were reported.
At one business on Union Hills Drive near the Loop 101, $100 was found to be missing.
Police then responded to another business on 59th Avenue near Greenway Road and learned the suspect broke in through the front window and robbed two employees inside after threatening them with a pry bar.
Glendale police say Briggs could be connected to 25 other cases across the East and West Valley and took the lead on the investigation, working alongside other agencies.
On Wednesday, Briggs was arrested during a traffic stop. A search warrant was later served at Briggs’ Glendale home and police say investigators found evidence including $10,000 in cash, receipts for large bank deposits, three pry bars and a ledger.
Documents say the ledger contained the addresses of 65 massage parlors with some entries that had been crossed out.
He’s facing multiple counts of armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and burglary.
Other Valley-area law enforcement agencies are expected to present additional charges against Briggs, including Peoria police.
Police in that city say four similar burglaries happened over a four-hour span from the night of Sept. 4 into the morning of Sept. 5.
Massage parlors were burglarized at the following locations:
Four massage parlors in Peoria were burglarized overnight.(Arizona's Family)
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Mitchell Briggs was taken into custody on Wednesday night, and investigators believe he could be tied to dozens of cases across the Valley.
Just after 2 a.m. on July 4, Glendale police responded to a reported burglary at a spa and massage business near 43rd and Olive avenues. A woman who works at the business called for help after seeing someone dressed in black and wearing a mask breaking into the building.
Police say the suspect got inside using a tool to carefully remove a glass panel from the front windows. The suspect is seen on surveillance video rummaging through drawers, but the owner later said he couldn’t find anything missing.
Around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 8, officers responded to a possible robbery at another massage parlor at 67th Avenue and Cactus Road. In this case, a similarly dressed suspect was captured on surveillance video driving up to the business in a Dodge Charger.
Documents say the man got inside by removing a glass panel and forced his way past the security door separating the lobby from the back rooms using a pry bar.
He then reportedly came across two employees sleeping in two separate back rooms. According to documents, he got into a struggle with one of them and threatened both with the pry bar. Police say he got away with $500.
Mitchell Briggs was taken into custody by Peoria and Glendale police on Wednesday night.(Maricopa County Sheriff's Office/Arizona's Family)
The Glendale Real Time Crime Center identified Briggs as the Charger’s registered owner through the license plate caught on surveillance video. According to documents, detectives learned that Briggs has a “lengthy” criminal history and is on lifetime probation for offenses including armed robbery, aggravated assault and kidnapping.
Later that same morning, police received a report that another massage parlor had been burglarized near 51st and Peoria avenues. After reviewing surveillance video, officers learned this break-in happened within the same hour as the earlier case.
With a signed search warrant, police placed a GPS device on the suspect’s vehicle the following day. Documents say the Charger made numerous stops on Sept. 10, where additional burglaries and robberies were reported.
At one business on Union Hills Drive near the Loop 101, $100 was found to be missing.
Police then responded to another business on 59th Avenue near Greenway Road and learned the suspect broke in through the front window and robbed two employees inside after threatening them with a pry bar.
Glendale police say Briggs could be connected to 25 other cases across the East and West Valley and took the lead on the investigation, working alongside other agencies.
On Wednesday, Briggs was arrested during a traffic stop. A search warrant was later served at Briggs’ Glendale home and police say investigators found evidence including $10,000 in cash, receipts for large bank deposits, three pry bars and a ledger.
Documents say the ledger contained the addresses of 65 massage parlors with some entries that had been crossed out.
He’s facing multiple counts of armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and burglary.
Other Valley-area law enforcement agencies are expected to present additional charges against Briggs, including Peoria police.
Police in that city say four similar burglaries happened over a four-hour span from the night of Sept. 4 into the morning of Sept. 5.
Massage parlors were burglarized at the following locations:
- 91st Avenue and Peoria Avenue — Heaven Spa and Massage
- 75th Avenue and Thunderbird Road — Peoria Health Spa
- 89th Avenue and Olive Avenue — Taiji Foot Spa
- 83rd Avenue and Cactus Road — Red Spa
Four massage parlors in Peoria were burglarized overnight.(Arizona's Family)
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.