EVERETT — This time, the suspected con man got conned — thanks to an alert bank teller, a determined detective and an elderly couple from south Everett.
Jackie T. George, 43, was under investigation for swindling a mentally challenged Bothell-area man out of $5,000, but his whereabouts were unknown. He had been convicted in 2008 of similar crimes and is currently charged in King County Superior Court with five counts of theft for allegedly taking money from a Seattle man for work on his car that was never performed.
Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office detective Danny Pitocco investigated a complaint filed on behalf of the Bothell man who lost $5,000.
Along the way, he contacted the victim’s bank, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.
Earlier this week, a teller from the bank noticed the Bothell man when he showed up to make another cash withdrawal. He was in the company of a second man.
The other man was driving a Buick. The teller jotted down the make, model and license plate number of the car.
The information was relayed to Pitocco, who discovered that the owner of the Buick is an 84-year-old south Everett man.
On Wednesday morning, the plainclothes detective drove out to that man’s home in an unmarked car. He anticipated a quick interview with the man and his wife.
The couple said that they’d met the suspect when he asked about buying their Buick.
He made a $100 down payment and agreed to pay $3,400 more, Ireton said. The couple trusted him and gave him the keys.
As luck would have it, they told the detective that the man was planning to come by their home at noon that very day.
Some time after 10 a.m. Wednesday, there was a knock on their door. It was the suspect.
The detective told the woman to invite him in.
Pitocco introduced himself as the couple’s son and put out his hand to greet him.
In turn, “the suspect extended his hand congenially” and was spun him around, handcuffed and taken into custody, Ireton said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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