Luke Bryan Fans Help Cops Catch a Suspected Thief

While a Tampa man’s tickets to the September Luke Bryan concert at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre turned out to be fakes, he managed to get the last laugh on the counterfeiter who sold them to him via a Craigslist exchange.

The Tampa Police Department said the victim saw a Craigslist ad for the four tickets he wanted and contacted the seller. Not completely comfortable with the idea of buying tickets from a stranger, the victim told the seller to meet him at his place of employment on Sept. 26.

When the man arrived with the four tickets, the victim snapped a picture of the guy’s driver’s license and wrote down the tag number on his car, police said.

Satisfied, he handed over $400 for the tickets.

Unfortunately, those tickets turned out to be phony. The victim discovered that when he used them to try and gain entry to the concert later that night.

Not one to take theft lying down, the man contacted Tampa police and turned over the picture and tag number.

As police investigated the case, they found a second victim who had purchased phony Luke Bryan tickets from the same man. That victim worked with police to arrange a meeting with the seller at the CVS pharmacy at 702 S. Dale Mabry.

When the seller arrived, police were ready.

In his car, they discovered eight bogus tickets to the Jason Aldean concert. Three other victims have since come forward since the man’s Oct. 7 arrest.

Geoffrey Minton, 28, faces two counts of communications fraud over $300, eight counts of possessing counterfeit tickets and six counts of grand theft. Police say he hails from Lynchburg, Ohio, and may have been working with a female accomplice. Anyone who purchased counterfeit tickets from Minton is asked to contact the Tampa Police Department at 813-276-3200.

Minton remained in the Hillsborough County Jail Tuesday in lieu of $20,000 bond, according to jail records.

The investigation continues.

Photo Credit: Geoffrey Minton/Hillsborough County Jail

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