A duo that has targeted real estate agents and open houses in a theft spree in the San Francisco Bay Area may have been spotted in the Park City, Utah, area, according to law enforcement reports.
Berkeley (Calif.) Police on June 21 reported that Paul McClung, 30, is a suspect in a string of thefts at open houses and real estate offices in the San Francisco area. McClung is typically accompanied by a white woman in her 50s, according to police, and the two allegedly “claim to be mother and son who are potential home buyers, wishing to buy homes for cash.”
The man allegedly “made off with the badge of a former city of Santa Barbara Police Department officer and is now impersonating a police officer,” police also reported.
While the woman distracts the real estate agent by engaging in conversation, the man allegedly “prowls the home or office for purses and wallets to steal,” and uses stolen identification and credit cards “to commit additional fraud and theft,” according to the Berkeley Police announcement.
An official at the Summit County Sheriff’s Office in Utah confirmed Wednesday that there has been a report involving the theft of a purse from an agent, though no details about that incident were available. A commenter at the Inman News blog stated that the suspects were in Park City, Utah, “over the weekend. Never let them out of your sight or try to separate. They came in a rented black Hummer and said they were looking to buy within the month.” The sheriff’s office did not confirm these details.
Sharon Woodbury, CEO for the Park City Board of Realtors, said Wednesday that the board issued a memo to its members after receiving an alert from a member that the duo “may be in the area,” though she did not provide specifics about the incident.
Berkeley Police reported that the suspects were active in the San Francisco Bay Area as recently as June 16 and June 17 and were seen in a dark blue four-door late model Jaguar with light-colored interior. Police also report that the couple may use stolen credit cards to rent vehicles.
McClung has previously resided in Florida, according to police reports. Police have not released the identity of the woman who is allegedly traveling with him nor revealed whether the woman is his mother.
Police describe McClung as 5 feet 10 inches tall with a thin build, brown hair and blue eyes. The SF.Curbed.com site reported a tip from a Realtor who said that the woman is between 50 and 60 years old with slender build, short dark-black hair, uneven “smoker’s teeth,” and “may have small dog on leash.”
A television news station dubbed the couple the “Open House Bandits.”
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