Dog brings down suspect in Craigslist scam
Credit a family dog in Virginia with finding the evidence that would lead to the arrest of a 20-year-old man on charges of robbery after he lured a car buyer to meet him through an ad on Craigslist.
Derek Shifflett, 20, of Verona, became a suspect in the case after a friend’s dog found the money — $12,000 — hidden under a bed.
Sgt. David Lotts, of the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office, said Shifflett posted a Honda Civic for sale on Craigslist, and made arrangements to meet an interested buyer.
The victim, from a car dealership in Hendersonville, N.C., traveled to Verona Monday afternoon and met with Shifflett, who told him the vehicle was being cleaned and filled with gas.
At one point, authorities say, Shifflett pushed the prospective buyer, a 64-year-old man, snatched an envelope containing $12,000 from his coat pocket, and ran off.
A few hours later, a Verona woman called the sheriff’s office after her dog pulled an envelope full of cash from beneath a bed in her home and began playing with it.
“The dog drug it out,” Lotts told Newsleader.com. “I guess he thought it was a new toy.”
Lotts said the woman’s son is friends with Shifflett. Shifflett turned himself in at the sheriff’s office late Monday night.
Lotts said the ad was fictitious and that Shifflett ” just took a random picture with a cell phone.”
“I figured that money was long gone,” he said.
Posted by jwoestendiek January 10th, 2013 under Muttsblog.
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