Markus C Bell. Description and mugshots below.
His story is consistently the same:
* Works at the church down the street as a janitor. Was on his way home
from work and car stalled. Needs a few more bucks for the tow."
My BS sensor went off pretty quickly, but the fact it was below zero out
made me second guess my instinct.
I gave him $20 and he promised to come back to pay me back. He actually did
return about an hour later, but wanted to write a check to pay me back. I
played along. Then he tried to write it for over the amount I gave him and
get the cash difference, and I said no. He said his car had successfully
been towed to Bethany Lutheran church up the block. Being a fake mechanic,
I offered to drive him to his car and see if I could get it started for
him. He tried to refuse, but I insisted, being confident at this point it
was BS. Once we got over there, he pointed out a white van parked along
25th St. While "digging around for his keys", someone came out of a house
and got in the vehicle and drove off. I called his bluff but he fumbled
with excuses. I decided to drop him off at Pizza Luce and waited to leave
until I saw him enter.
I then went home and googled the name on the check to find he is a wanted
scammer and immediately called 911. The dispatch took all the info and said
they'd send a squad. However, no one came to take my report so I don't know
if they caught him or not. According to the articles below, he has a bunch
of priors including burglary and gun charges - but mostly soliciting
without a license. It appears he has a warrant for skipping a court date
last year.
Here is the description, which is consistent with reports online...
Black Male - medium build in his late 40s or 50s. Short cropped salt and
pepper hair. Thin mustache. Nicely dressed in a black pea coat and
expensive looking light tan leather shoes. Apparently, he is using his own
checkbook to write checks. The address listed on the check is Hudson. I
have the check still if the police wanted to follow up. I had him write his
phone number on there, which I assumed was BS, but then again, he is using
his own checks...
Links - same mugshot on each link, however he looks the same + pencil
mustache
http://goldenvalley.patch.com/articles/crime-alert-in-golden-valley-call-police-if-you-see-this-man
http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/127629818.html?refer=y
http://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/MPLS-856be
http://stlouispark.patch.com/articles/alleged-panhandler-may-have-moved-on-to-minneapolis
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/03/29/police-search-for-suspected-scam-artist/
If the cops picked him up, hopefully he won't be hitting the neighborhood
again. If not, be on the look out.