TACOMA, Wash. - A family feud may be behind a fake ad on Craigslist that invited people to take whatever they wanted for free from a Tacoma home, but it appears police aren't ready to haul anyone to jail for it.
Laurie Raye owns the home that was trashed after someone posted an ad on the advertising website. "In the ad, it said come and take what you want," says Raye as she looks over what little was left in the home.
Lots of people saw or heard about the offer and chaos ensued. Neighbors say they saw strangers pull up and haul away all sorts of stuff. Nearly everything of value has been stripped. Light fixtures, mirrors, baseboards, the hot water heater, cabinets, even the kitchen sink.
"I'm trying to figure out how Craigslist screens people," says Raye, "And how they verify who's placing the ad."
Raye says she recently evicted the tenant who was living there – her own sister – leading to speculation that Raye's own siblings may be behind the ad.
An off-duty Tacoma police officer noticed the Craigslist ad last week, inviting people to enter the unlocked house and take whatever they wanted. Later, that same officer noticed the ad was flagged and canceled after a reported burglary at the house.
The sibling rivalry is one of the reasons Tacoma Police are not looking at this as a criminal case. They say it's a civil matter.
"We've had lots of scams off of Craigslist, " says Tacoma Police Detective Gretchen Ellis. "Not everything you read is the truth."
Officials at Craigslist say they need a subpoena or search warrant to release information about who posted the ad. Tacoma Police say they are not going to request those documents.
Police also say even if they knew who took items from the home, most would likely not face criminal charges(underline by me).(!!!)
Laurie Raye owns the home that was trashed after someone posted an ad on the advertising website. "In the ad, it said come and take what you want," says Raye as she looks over what little was left in the home.
Lots of people saw or heard about the offer and chaos ensued. Neighbors say they saw strangers pull up and haul away all sorts of stuff. Nearly everything of value has been stripped. Light fixtures, mirrors, baseboards, the hot water heater, cabinets, even the kitchen sink.
"I'm trying to figure out how Craigslist screens people," says Raye, "And how they verify who's placing the ad."
Raye says she recently evicted the tenant who was living there – her own sister – leading to speculation that Raye's own siblings may be behind the ad.
An off-duty Tacoma police officer noticed the Craigslist ad last week, inviting people to enter the unlocked house and take whatever they wanted. Later, that same officer noticed the ad was flagged and canceled after a reported burglary at the house.
The sibling rivalry is one of the reasons Tacoma Police are not looking at this as a criminal case. They say it's a civil matter.
"We've had lots of scams off of Craigslist, " says Tacoma Police Detective Gretchen Ellis. "Not everything you read is the truth."
Officials at Craigslist say they need a subpoena or search warrant to release information about who posted the ad. Tacoma Police say they are not going to request those documents.
Police also say even if they knew who took items from the home, most would likely not face criminal charges(underline by me).(!!!)
Okay, first off- why isn't the Tacoma PD going after these people? The people who took the stuff out of this house are criminals! If they were brought before a judge, what could they say in their defense? "Well, judge, we saw it on the internet, so we just assumed that it was true." Yeah, right. That will really convince the judge! I think he might ask them, "What right did you have to come into this house and take this person's property? Did you do anything at all to make sure you had permission from the legal owner?" (Of course none of these people did.) It's just like this: Imagine someone goes out late at night and puts a sign up in front of a grocery store that says, "All items inside are free. Break all the windows and take whatever you want!" And so hoards of people break in and pillage the store. Come on now. That's just downright ridiculous. But that's exactly what the Tacoma PD is allowing in this case. So the first point is that the Tacoma PD is guilty of major negligence in not going after the people who looted this house. But then there's a second point that is much subtler but maybe even more significant. This lady owns a home that she was renting to her sister. Apparently she and her sister could not get along, so Laurie Raye evicted her sister from the house. At this point, what would common sense indicate Laurie Raye should do? I have a suggestion. The moment Laurie Raye evicted her sister, she should have gone to the house to make sure her sister had left and then locked all the doors and put up signs saying "Keep out. Trespassers will be prosecuted!" I believe that the laws in this country still say that if you break into a locked building you are commiting burglary! Unfortunately, Laurie Raye has had a momentous wake-up call. Scorned relatives are the worst enemy you could ever have. Besides the Tacoma PD, that is.
