Kingsville Man Charged in Craigslist Van Scam: Police

A Kingsville man has been charged with 10 offenses including multiple felony theft charges in connection with a Craigslist scam, according to the Baltimore County Police Department.

Glenn Stanley Davis, 51, of the 6500 block of Mount Vista Road, is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 2 in Baltimore County Circuit Court.

Police said Davis allegedly stole a white 2002 Ford E450 van, then advertised it on Craigslist and attempted to sell it to multiple people, accepting payments and not delivering the van as promised.

The van’s original owner left the vehicle at Allstar Automotive for repairs in the 1000 block of Old Eastern Avenue after it broke down in June 2014, police reported. The original owner paid $2,556 for repairs on the van, which also contained $5,000 worth of exercise equipment, according to the report.

In November 2014, Davis contacted the owner and offered to buy the van for $7,500, police reported. Davis agreed to pay by Nov. 15, and he never sent the money, according to the report.

Starting in January, the original owner—whose phone number was listed on the side of the van—began receiving calls from people saying they had paid to purchase the vehicle from Davis but received neither the van nor the title, the report said.

One man walked into the Dundalk precinct on April 7 and reported that he met with a Craigslist seller, later identified as Davis, and paid $3,000 for a van which the seller never delivered, police reported. When the victim returned to the location where they met, he was told Davis was showing the van to other people, according to the report.

Investigators determined that prospective buyers would meet with Davis and pay part or all of the agreed-upon price, and Davis would promise to deliver the van later but never did, police reported.

Some of the victims received some of their money back after threatening to call police, but none received a full refund.

Then police got an inside look into how the operation worked.

An undercover detective posing as a buyer contacted Davis on Craigslist, met him at a gas station on Belair Road, then went to a storage lot to see the van, police said.

Davis said he would need a $1,200 down payment for the van, which he would deliver with its title once it was inspected, according to police.

At that point, the undercover detective took Davis into custody, police reported. He was released on $75,000 bail, according to the report.

Davis is charged with six counts of theft from $1,000 to $10,000; two counts of theft less than $1,000; unauthorized removal of property; and attempted theft from $1,000 to $10,000, court records show.

Anyone with information or who may have been the victim of this type of crime may contact police at 410-887-7309.

Photo of Glenn Davis courtesy of the Baltimore County Police Department.