Man who robbed 81-year-old man of $10,000 in Tacoma linked to crime ring
Police have issued a warrant for a man who has been linked to a Romanian crime ring.
According to court records from Pierce County Superior Court, the man is 34-year-old Constantin Constantin. Other known aliases are Constantin Ghiocel and Isaila Marian.
His whereabouts are unknown, according to the warrant. A judge issued the warrant on Thursday.
Constantin first appeared on the Tacoma Police Department’s radar on Nov. 22, 2025 when he allegedly robbed an 81-year-old man of $10,000, according to court records. The robbery happened in the 3800 block of South Yakima Avenue at about 11:16 a.m.
The victim told police he was sitting in his vehicle waiting for his girlfriend to come out of a grocery store when a woman approached him from the driver’s side door and showed him a $100 bill, according to court documents. The woman then allegedly demanded the man open his wallet, and she would put the $100 bill in it for him.
He opened the door to his vehicle, and the woman began grabbing at his left pocket, trying to get his wallet, documents say. A man, later identified as Constantin, appeared and pulled the victim back and forth to try and remove his wallet from his pocket.
The victim then removed his wallet and threw it into the passenger area of his vehicle, and Constantin went into the victim’s vehicle and took his wallet, documents say. The man and woman went back to their vehicle, removed the victim’s cash, then threw his wallet outside and drove away.
When the officer asked the victim why he had $10,000 cash in his wallet, the victim allegedly replied with, “It’s an Asian thing,” saying it’s common in his culture to carry large amounts of cash.
Constantin left his hat at the scene, documents say, and police received a DNA report for the hat on June 23, identifying Constantin as the male suspect. The DNA profile did not identify the woman.
The officer, Jared Williams, then contacted another office at the Redmond Police Department “who is extremely knowledgeable in Romanian crime rings,” according to the documents.
“[She] provided a recent known alias for Constantin, Marian Isaila, along with information about associates and possible whereabouts throughout Washington, Oregon and California,” Williams wrote. “[She] also advised of numerous similar crimes in WA, CA, and OR committed by Constantin and other Romanian / eastern European crime rings.”
These crime rings “often target elderly Asian victims based on their vulnerability,” according to the documents.
The documents do not give a description of Constantin, and Shelbie Boyd, spokesperson for the Tacoma Police Department, said a mugshot of Constantin was not available at the time of publication.
Residents with information on Constantin’s whereabouts can call the Tacoma Police Department at 253-287-4455.
