Officers find Best Buy boxes filled with rocks and
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Marilyn Dubil – Staff Writer
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MORGAN HILL
Police arrested two Hayward men who allegedly attempted to pass off boxes filled with rocks as plasma TVs and laptops.
Timothy Williams, 42, and Christopher Walker, 50, both of Richmond, were booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grand theft and attempt to defraud, according to Morgan Hill police Cmdr. David Swing. Williams was also charged with driving on a suspended license.
Williams and Walker approached a Morgan Hill man in the Walgreens’ parking lot on Walnut Grove Drive at East Dunne Avenue about 8:20 p.m. Swing said the pair asked the man if he wanted to buy a plasma TV they had in the trunk of their car.
“I think that the person who was approached used great judgment in recognizing that something was wrong,” Swing said. “Perhaps he followed the old adage that if it sounds too good to be true, it is.”
The man gave police dispatchers a description of the suspects and the car they were in, as well as a partial license plate number. Officers Brandon Richards and Luis Espejo, who were responding to the call, saw a car matching the description before they arrived at the Walgreens store and pulled the vehicle over.
Williams and Walker were headed eastbound on East Dunne Avenue when they were spotted, Swing said.
When they looked in the trunk, Richards and Espejo didn’t find laptops or plasma TVs. Instead, Swing said, they found seven cardboard boxes with “Best Buy” advertisements and an America Online CD taped on them. The boxes were filled with rocks.
“They were trying to defraud the public,” Swing said. “We are currently working with other agencies to find out if they have had similar types of scams in their jurisdiction. These types of individuals travel to other communities and prey on people, moving around to avoid detection.”
Anyone with information about the scam or who is a victim of a similar scam canto contact Espejo at 770-2101.
