Editor’s note: compiled from reports to Tacoma police.
Jan. 21: It wasn’t the smartest move. A Tacoma man hoping to rent a house paid too much money to a man he’d never met who didn’t own the home.
The victim, 43, had seen a rental ad on Craigslist, the free classified-advertising site. The house was in the 5100 block of North 48th Street. The man emailed the owner listed in the ad, who wanted to make a fast deal.
The owner emailed back and said he was moving to Nigeria immediately. If the would-be renter sent $700 through Western Union, that would secure the house. The owner would send the keys.
The Tacoma man sent the money and waited, but he never got the keys. He called the owner, who had a telephone number based in Nigeria. The owner said someone else had made a higher offer to secure the house. If the would-be renter sent another $700 through Western Union, that would seal the deal.
The man sent the money and waited. No keys arrived. The man drove to the address of the house, spotted a for-rent sign and called the number, which was local.
The answer was disappointing. The owner wasn’t in Nigeria and hadn’t advertised on Craigslist. An officer took the scammed man’s report and filed it under fraud.
Jan. 28, 4:15 p.m.: The Tacoma tweeker took one too many chances, and the neighbors finally got tired of it.
The call came to police as a reported break-in at a vacant home in the 8200 block of South G Street. The stolen item was a water heater. The suspected thief was hauling it down an alley.
Witnesses told officers that suspect was a 27-year-old man, a meth addict with a reputation for stealing from neighbors. He wore a blue shirt and gray sweats. A witness had seen the man pulling the water heater through the window of the vacant home.
The home belonged to an elderly couple, witnesses said. The couple had medical bills. They were trying to fix up the house and sell it.
Witnesses saw the suspect hauling the heater and yelled at him to stop. The suspect ran.
Officers opened the vacant home and saw signs of construction: new plumbing and wiring. Copper piping in one area was cut, and one window was open.
Officers noticed a blue minivan nearby with an open hatch and metal scraps inside. A woman, later identified as the suspect’s mother, shut the van hatch. The officer noticed a figure on the other side of the van, ducking and moving furtively.
Drawing a gun, the officer ran to the side of the van and shouted, “Show me your hands.” The man wore a blue shirt and gray sweats. He put his hands in the air. Officers cuffed him.
A witness watching the scene told the officers, “I saw you guys take him down; that’s him.”
The suspect admitted taking the water heater. He said he had permission. His mother said he’d asked her for a ride to a scrap yard.
Sean Robinson: 253-597-8486
sean.robinson@thenewstribune.com
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