ARLINGTON — It was a video of a man joy-riding in a golf cart that helped to solve the case of a $12,000 theft, according to Arlington police.
In August, detectives were investigating how two E-Z-Go golf carts went missing from the Gleneagle Golf Course on Country Club Drive. They received an anonymous tip that an Arlington man, 24, had sold them to a woman in Monroe, according to a probable cause affidavit. She is described as a family friend.
Officers drove to the woman’s home — about 30 miles southeast of the golf course — and found two golf carts with serial numbers that matched the missing ones. The woman confirmed she’d just bought the carts from the young Arlington man for $200 each, a steep discount from their market value of $6,000, according to police.
She denied knowing they were stolen. Since then, police have recommended charges against her, detective Sgt. Mark Pennington said.
Once the carts were towed back to Arlington, staff noticed the logos were sanded off and the tires had been swapped out, said Paul Melohusky, general manager of Gleneagle. Nonetheless, they were happy to have them back, he said.
Detectives later tracked down another woman, who had a video reportedly showing the 24-year-old suspect driving a golf cart in the Gleneagle neighborhood. The cart had an E-Z-Go logo.
The video was dated Aug. 4. The next day, the carts were reported missing. Police suspect the thief hid the carts in the woods near the golf course, before transporting them to Monroe.
On Aug. 25, officers were waiting for the suspect when he showed up for an unrelated court hearing in Everett. He was arrested for investigation of first-degree theft and trafficking in stolen property. Both are felonies.
He remains in jail awaiting trial in that case and two others, where he’s charged with attempting to elude a police cruiser in November 2016 and violating a no-contact order in May 2017. In the past he has been convicted of misdemeanors — theft, violating protection orders and domestic violence assault — but no felonies.
Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.
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