Theft suspect arrested attempting to sell stolen items on Facebook

A suspect in a March theft was arrested Wednesday during a sting operation, organized after the stolen items were posted for sale on Facebook.

Eric John Marquis, 40, was arrested on charges of Grand Theft and Dealing in Stolen Property after he arrived to complete the transaction with the undercover deputy.

The theft happened on March 18, when the victim parked his motorcycle near the front door of Walmart at 375 Kings Highway, leaving his Bluetooth equipped helmet on the bike. When he left the store, the helmet was gone.

Using surveillance footage, Collier County deputies recognized the suspect as Marquis based on prior encounters. Marquis, who is homeless couldn’t be found.

On April 23, detectives saw Marquis was selling a Bluetooth helmet set on Facebook. The victim was contacted and he identified the posted set as his stolen property. The detective made arrangements to purchase the set from Eric Marquis, meeting at a Pizza Hut. Marquis was arrested at the time of the meeting.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office encourages you to be safe when conducting business transactions resulting from online commerce. In addition to the risk of purchasing stolen property, the seller or buyer may have criminal intentions for the meetings, such as stealing your money or merchandise.

The Sheriff’s Office has designated areas at every District Office as E-Commerce Exchange Safe Zones for customers meeting with individuals to transact business resulting from online deals. Using these locations to conduct transactions is strongly encouraged to decrease the opportunity for criminal activity.

A complete list of our safe zones can be found in an earlier blog post by clicking here.