Clever fisherman helps net boat thieves!

Over the weekend, an anonymous tipster was looking for a new fishing boat online, when he thought one particular ad smelled a little fishy.

He estimated the boat pictured in the ad was worth about twice what it was listed for.

Curious, he posed as an interested buyer and arranged to meet the seller to examine the boat. During his inspection of the vessel, he thought the title paperwork and VIN looked like they had been altered. Our tipster gathered as much information as he could and reached out to the detectives at the Auto Theft Task Force to advise them of the situation.

Using the tipster’s information, detectives were able to determine the boat had been stolen out of a storage facility in Washington state about a week ago. The owner had no idea!

Posing as another interested buyer, detectives were able to arrest 34-year-old Richard Bond and 42-year-old Mika Spanos, who were both booked into the San Joaquin County Jail for numerous charges, including grand theft, conspiracy, and fraud.

The boat is currently in the process of being reunited with its grateful owner. Remember, if a deal seems too good to be true, there’s probably a reason!