Man arrested for trying to sell stolen excavator on Facebook Marketplace
Man accused of trying to sell stolen excavator on Facebook Marketplace
Pierce County investigators say a 23-year-old stole a piece of construction equipment from a local business, then tried to sell it on Facebook Marketplace.
TACOMA, Wash. - Pierce County investigators say a 23-year-old stole a piece of construction equipment from a local business then tried to sell it on Facebook.
According to court documents, it was an employee at Tucci and Sons, the business where the excavator was stolen, who recognized the stolen excavator on Facebook Marketplace, which helped to lead to an arrest.
Body camera footage from a Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy shows the arrest from September 24.
According to investigators, the suspect was in the middle of trying to sell the stolen excavator when they arrived on scene.
"You can buy anything on Facebook Marketplace, anything to an excavator. But if the price is too good to be true, you might want to start asking some questions," said Deputy Carly Cappetto with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.
Man accused of stealing tractor, reselling online
Dig deeper:
Court documents say 23-year-old Victor Aleksandrovich Kurkov stole the excavator.
According to Cappetto, the employee found the stolen excavator on Facebook and recognized it was the stolen construction vehicle because of damage on the excavator and noticing the pictures posted to Marketplace were taken right across the street from Tucci and Sons’ lot.
"It was obvious on the excavator that they had spray-painted the logos. They had also tried to scrape off the VIN number, but what was interesting is that there was still VIN numbers on the bucket, and we were able to match all of those," said Cappetto.
What's next:
Investigators returned the excavator to the company and arrested Kurkov for possession of stolen property and trafficking stolen property.
"This suspect is being investigated with other large stolen machinery and vehicles, and so it’s not his first rodeo," said Cappetto.
According to court documents, Kurkov was recently arrested in Sumner for trying to sell a stolen Peterbilt semi-truck, and investigators also recovered three other stolen vehicles from his property.
Kurkov appeared in court, and his bail was set to $10,000.
Officials with the prosecutor’s office tell FOX 13 Seattle that he is already out of custody.
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The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter AJ Janavel.