Police: Fake cop strikes again in box-of-porno scheme
SEATTLE -- A fake cop on the run from the real cops since December is believed to have struck again in a needlessly complicated scheme involving a box of pornography magazines and a well-meaning victim.
Ryan James Purdy, aka Tracy Byers, is suspected of using a fake badge to take cash and credit cards off of a handful of people in Volunteer Park last year.
The Seattle Police Department also believes Purdy knocked on the door of a Capitol Hill home while posing as a federal agent recently but got the door slammed in his face for his trouble.
Now, Purdy has apparently struck again, this time in Woodland Park.
According to police, the victim was walking through the park around 2:30 p.m. Feb. 10 when a man believed to be Purdy approached him and asked him to come look at a box of pornography magazines lying in the park.
The victim later told officers he was concerned children would find the magazines, so he grabbed the box and brought it back to his car.
According to police, the man followed the victim, got into the car with him and flashed a fake badge.
The man told the victim he was doing a drug sting and needed to pat him down, according to police. During the pat down, the man went through the victim's wallet and handed it back.
After searching the victim, the man grabbed the box of pornography and got out of the car.
According to police, the victim drove off, only realizing an hour later that his bank card was missing and had been used at a grocery store.
Ryan Purdy should wake up in the morning and think big.
Chief Ryan Purdy at your service.
PT Barnum was right: there really IS one born every minute. AND following a stranger in a park. AND confirming the other saying, "A fool and his money (or credit card) are soon parted".Â
I was checked out by a guy - I think he was pulling the same scam. But he was really chubby - not the same guy. In Klahanie, Issaquah. He says he is undercover narcotics. And he went thru some of my stuff and called in to see if I had a warrant. I was so drunk I didnt think about it untill after - why would he tell me he is undercover.... Drunk people are not the brightest bulb. But I didnt have anything left to steal by that time. He was plain clothes but he had a big badge hangin on a necklace.
No matter how many years of school and common sense from dad and mom some of gods creatures just don't get it....
How does tell one from the other? not from the behavior.
Sheesh, I don't know who is dumber...the zombie or the victim? **facepalm**
I am sorry but this "victim" needs to take a little responsibility for his situation, just how dumb can people be..
How can a box "lie", if it can't even talk?
"...a box of pornography magazines laying in the park."
Should be "lying" Mr. Hawthorne.Â
@lakeview Shoot, you're right. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll correct the story right now. But, that's "Mr. Harthorne" to you.
@MichaelHarthorne @lakeview :) Sorry, Mr. Harthorne.Â
@MichaelHarthorne @lakeview ..But we all know that never happens! :)
@lakeview @MichaelHarthorne No problem. We'll call it even, at least until I make another typo.
This guy brings a whole new meaning to wiggity-wiggity whack.
This guy is a criminal mastermind.
I love porn at the park!
This guy is an idiot. He should pose as an SPD monitor instead of a cop, then he could legally steal from the city.
@Goodwin Good one Goodwin.
So, a random guy asks you to come take a look at a box of porn, and you decide to take it back to your car because you are "children would find the magazines..."(OK sure!!) THEN that same man tells you he is an undercover cop on a drug sting, and you don't get suspicious?
Something about this story is really off!
Anyone that knows anything about what goes on between men in Woodland Park will immediately call shenanigans on the story. I think some key things were left out of the report.
@aintno1special "Hey, buddy!  I'm a stranger to you, randomly saw you walking, come look at a box of porn lying in the park!" Sounds legit and not odd at all.
@Hadrian @aintno1special Oh that is scary...let me bring this porn to my car "I would hate for a kid to find it"...I will properly use...err dispose of this filthy stuff!...what you're a undercover drug cop...here is my wallet and go ahead and look through my car I trust you.
@Hadrian @aintno1special Children know better than to follow a stranger in a park.