Two Arizona Men Who Say They Paid $500 For Contents Of Home Purportedly In Foreclosure Now Face Burglary Charges

In Chandler, Arizona, the East Valley Times reports:

• Two East Valley men thought a homeowner’s loss was their gain, police said. For $500, they could have all the possessions in the soon-to-be-foreclosed house in Chandler. But Phillip Figueroa Martinez and Frank Valenzuela paid that sum to burglarize a model house, police said. They were arrested Saturday on suspicion of second-degree burglary. As for the unidentified “homeowner,” he’s $500 richer and nowhere to be found.

• According to arrest documents, Martinez, 29, of Chandler and Valenzuela, 25, of Mesa said they were drinking in a bar when they met a man who told them his tale of real estate woe. A deal was struck, the two rented a trailer and headed to [the home]. At the house, the men paid cash to the “homeowner,” who then left. The two entered the house through an unknown means, perhaps by kicking in the door, and loaded the trailer with as much as they could. An estimated value of the stolen goods was not immediately available.

• Around 6:35 p.m., police received a call of a suspicious vehicle and men taking furniture out of a model house. With the trailer full, Martinez and Valenzuela drove away. But police stopped their vehicle [...] about 2 1/2 miles away. That’s when, police said, the two discovered their deal on the furniture was not much of a deal at all.

For the story, see Pair lose $500 in burglary scam, police say.