Three arrested after stolen goods found on marketplace app

LYNNWOOD, Wash. — Three people were arrested in Lynnwood Sunday after police conducted a sting involving stolen property that was listed on a buying-selling app, according to investigators.

On Saturday at 3:50 a.m., a neighbor saw a man taking landscaping equipment out of the bed of a parked pickup and then tossing the items over a nearby fence.

The pickup was in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 5900 block of 200th Street Southwest.  The owner of the truck was contacted and confirmed that someone had stolen several pieces of equipment out of his truck including a weed eater, leaf blower and a chain saw.

Responding officers did not find the suspect or the stolen equipment.

That night, the victim called police saying a family member had found his stolen equipment listed for sale on the OfferUp app. The victim was able to describe characteristics of the stolen equipment that matched the pictures of the items listed on the app.

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During the investigation, a patrol officer noticed that the same person selling the landscaping equipment was also selling a pickup tailgate that matched one that was stolen during a vehicle prowl in the 5900 block of 202nd Street Southwest.

On Sunday, officers arranged to meet with the seller of the items that were believed to be stolen. One of the officers posed as a buyer and arranged a 7 p.m. meeting with the seller at Dick’s Drive-In on Highway 99. Other officers moved in during the meeting and arrested two men and a woman.  Two were booked on suspicion of trafficking of stolen property and the other was booked on suspicion of possession of stolen property.

The victim’s stolen leaf blower was recovered, but the other items have not been found.

A vehicle associated with the suspects was impounded and police detectives executed a search warrant. Several pickup tailgates believed to have been stolen from other victims in the same neighborhood were recovered.

Cox Media Group