Woman gets her stolen weed wacker back after seeing it on selling app

A Tacoma woman took matters into her own hands when she saw her stolen weed wacker on a selling app.

After dropping her son off for a camp retreat, Cynthia Rodriguez found her lawnmower outside her shed and discovered her weed wacker had been stolen.

>>Related: Bellevue-based sales site may not be as 'safe' as promised

"I was a little bit nervous," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez called the police to report her stolen equipment and minutes later looked on OfferUp to see if it showed up.

Rodriguez was angry but turned that anger into action.

About a half-hour after it was stolen, Rodriguez said she found it for sale on the app and arranged to meet the person who was selling it.

Rodriguez said she wanted to meet the seller quickly before the weed waacker was sold. 

A KIRO 7 reporter asked, "Did the guy get mad?" 

"No, I think he was caught at that point," Rodriguez said.

However, police do not recommend that because they said it's potentially dangerous. In addition, they said it could actually hurt the investigation because they did not catch the thief red-handed and the weed wacker was back in the hands of the owner.

"I did report it to police, but four hours had elapsed," Rodriguez said.

Using OfferUp is just one of the ways thieves fence their stolen goods, KIRO 7 learned.

At Hilltop Red Apple Market in Seattle's Beacon Hill, shoplifters are stealing bigger-ticket items, like Tide Pods and Sensodyne toothpaste, and selling them at a fraction of the price on websites like OfferUp.

"When they come here, I'm gonna protect what's mine," Dean Hasegawa, of Hilltop Red Apple Market, said. 

"They say this is one of the worst cities for stealing," Lamonte Berrysmith, who lives on the street, said.

Berrysmith said theft is how many addicts survive. "Something that might be $500, they might sell for $5 or $10."

Two years ago, a thief stole thousands of dollars in tools and electronics from a Magnolia home. They ended up for sale on OfferUp.

"Every single thing on this list was stolen from this house," a homeowner said.

As for Rodriguez, she has locked her weed wacker in a shed, and there are reports the person she confronted has been seen in the north Tacoma neighborhood. She's hoping her public push will lead to punishment.

>>Related: Lakewood police and OfferUp partner for safer buying and selling

A KIRO 7 reporter asked her, "Would you do it again?"

"In retrospect, I would have called the police while I was there and had him arrested on-site," Rodriguez said.

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