ESCONDIDO, Calif. — A California man was arrested after police said he stole thousands of dollars’ worth of tools and sold them online.
The Escondido Police Department said in a news release that its investigation began in November 2022, when Industrial Liquidation Plus was burglarized. At the time, the thief stole approximately $60,000 in tools, including a concrete tamper.
A detective investigating the case found the concrete tamper for sale on the website OfferUp and determined the same seller sold hundreds of other items that were new, like new, or in the original packaging on OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace. Investigators said the items were mostly tools.
On Feb. 2, detectives contacted the seller, identified as David Martinez, via OfferUp and set up a time to meet him. In a news release, police said that when Martinez arrived, he brought with him the stolen concrete tamper that had been taken from Industrial Liquidation Plus.
Detectives served a search warrant at two locations with ties to Martinez and found more than 230 items stolen from Home Depot, worth more than $50,000.
Martinez was charged with receiving stolen property and conspiracy and was taken to the Vista Detention Facility.
Investigators noted their detectives worked with teams from California Highway Patrol, Lowes and Home Depot, the Times-Advocate reported.