Oven doors passed off as flat-screen TVs
04:59 PM CDT on Friday, April 7, 2006
Associated Press
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - A rash of oven-door thefts may be linked to a recent case in which a woman bought what she thought was a flat-screen TV, only to discover that the package held an old oven door, police said.
South Bend detective Sgt. Jim Walsh said police arrested a suspect March 30 they believe sold the door to the woman. Police said an oven door and packaging materials were found in the trunk of the man's car.
Oven doors are an increasingly hot item in burglaries targeting vacant properties. Walsh said oven doors were among the items stolen in five recent burglaries.
Police have had two reports of the doors being sold as flat-screen TVs, and it's likely that others went unreported by the embarrassed buyers, Walsh said. Officers are investigating at least two other suspects who may be disguising oven doors and selling them.
Walsh said it's risky to buy products off the street, particularly without opening the package first.
In the case of the bilked woman, she was approached by the suspect Feb. 20 at her workplace with an offer of a flat-screen TV for $500. The suspect settled for $300. But when the woman unwrapped the packaging, she found a cord, a controller -- and an oven door.