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Stolen laptop was twice sold on Craigslist
Feb 01, 2013 (The Oregonian - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Milwaukie Police are warning people about buying goods from Craigslist after a man had his laptop stolen. It was twice pilfered and twice sold on Craigslist. In a lucky turn of events, he got the computer back a year after it was taken from him.
In January 2012, Alexander Stanisel, reported his MacBook stolen. Meanwhile, Chloe Simmons saw a deal on Craigslist for the laptop and bought it. Then it was stolen from her. Later, Abram Underwood saw a deal on the MacBook on Craigslist -- only $400. So he bought it. Neither Simmons nor Underwood knew they had been sold stolen property, according to police.
Simmons had installed a program on the computer that let her send a message to it, so she did. This allowed her and police to track the computer to Underwood. Then, when investigators checked the laptop's serial number in a national database, they found it was actually Stanisel's.
Police returned the computer to Stanisel in December. Now police think they caught the person who last stole the computer and have forwarded the information to Multnomah County District Attorney's Office for Grand Jury consideration, according to Milwaukie police officer Ulli Neitch.
Neitch offered these tips to mitigate theft:
-Keep a list of property serial numbers and a file of receipts
-Don't leave property in unattended vehicles
-Report thefts promptly
-Scrutinize any potential purchase from a classified ad website: If the price is too good to be true, beware. If the seller provides sketchy information, beware. If the seller is in a rush to sell, beware. Ask for and document the seller's picture I.D. and if he refuses to provide it, don't make the purchase. Note the license plate number of the seller's vehicle.
"Even though an article was purchased in good-faith, if it is later determined to be stolen, the buyer loses not only the money, but the stolen property will be seized by police and returned to the valid owner," Neitch wrote in a press release.
--Heather Steeves
___ (c)2013 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) Visit The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.)
at www.oregonian.com Distributed by MCT Information Services
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