Man arrested following alleged Craigslist caper involving stolen ATV

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A man has been arrested following an alleged Craigslist caper. Deputies say the man stole an all-terrain vehicle, then tried to sell it on the website for thousands of dollars.

A Cypress man has a cautionary tale about doing business on Craigslist. Not only did he buy stolen property, but he also lost the four wheeler he was trying to trade.

Jordan Griffith was looking to trade up for his 2006 Yamaha YZF four wheeler. So back in April, he logged on to Craigslist, and went to the ATV section, found this blue 2011 Kawasaki Teryx and made a deal with the seller.

"It was my four wheeler and cash for the side by side, and the deal didn't go through," Griffith told Eyewitness News.

It didn't go through because he was dealing with 26-year-old J'Gerrard Drik Thibedeaux. As of September 3, he was arrested and charged with burglary of a habitation for stealing the Teryx out of a garage.

Thibedeaux then posted it for sale on Craigslist. Without knowing, Griffith met him for the transaction. When he received a phony title, he knew it was a scam.

"At that point, they switched ATVs. As the victim was leaving, he was given the title to the ATV, and when he opened the envelope and found out it was a blank piece of paper, he knew something was not right," said Deputy Thomas Gilliland with the Harris Co. Sheriff's Office.

Griffith took the Teryx home and called the Sheriff's Office to find the rightful owner. They ran the serial number and Griffith contacted the owner.

"I called the lady the next day, and it was actually stolen out of her garage," he said.

To make matters worse, Griffith still has not gotten back his 2006 Yamaha YZF he was trading. He said he saw it also posted on Craigslist for a cheap price almost instantly and has not seen it since.

"You got to know who you are dealing with. If it sounds sketchy and too good to be true, than most likely it's sketchy," Griffith said.

The other thing that will leave your head shaking here is that investigators say Thibedeaux, the suspect, stole that Kawasaki Teryx from his friend's garage. Since he has a criminal history, he's being held without bond.

You can read more on this story in The Atascocita Observer, one of our Houston Community Newspaper partners online.

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