PARKLAND, Wash. — A man is accused of trying to sell a stolen excavator right across the street from the victim’s business. The rightful owner of the heavy machinery reportedly spotted it for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
Body camera footage shows Pierce County deputies busting up the sale at a storage facility in Parkland. Multiple potential buyers were on site when they arrived.
“Everyone is being detained,” a deputy told the group of men.
“We were looking to buy the machine,” one man responded.
“Yeah, we were looking at it on Facebook,” another added.
“They mentioned they were there to check out the excavator,” Pierce County Public Information Officer Deputy Carly Cappetto said. “When they had seen it was listed for $24,000, it was a steal of a deal, and they weren’t going to pass it up.”
According to investigators, the excavator was stolen from the construction company Tucci and Sons earlier this month. It was reported missing from a road work site in Spanaway on Sept. 19.
Days later, the owner alerted deputies he spotted it for sale online. He reportedly recognized the blue garage doors seen in the listing photos from a storage facility across the street from one of the company’s plants in Parkland.
“It was just not very smart on the suspect’s part,” Cappetto said.
A plan was constructed.
“We were able to verify that information and pretty much set up a meet with the seller, who was the alleged suspect in this case,” Cappetto said. “You can see in that body cam, us swooping in, as he is attempting to sell it to other buyers.”
Prosecutors charged the alleged seller, Victor Kurkov, with possession of a stolen vehicle and trafficking stolen property. Kurkov reportedly listed the machinery for sale under a fake name.
According to Cappetto, Kurkov was already under investigation for a previous theft of large machinery.
“Construction sites and new construction zones are huge targets for theft and vandalism,” Cappetto added.
Cappetto told KIRO 7 thefts from construction sites are a growing problem and the heavy machinery that’s stolen is often used in other crimes.
“We have had large equipment stolen to steal ATMs, essentially rip them out of the ground,” Cappetto said.
Kurkov was reportedly asked if he knew the excavator was stolen, then quit answering questions.
Kurkov was released from jail on $10,000 bail.