CAPTURED: Suspect seen cashing checks stolen from victim's storage unit
SNOHOMISH COUNTY -- Mountlake Terrace Police say they have arrested a suspect accused of cashing checks stolen from a storage unit. Michael Scott Gibbs was booked for Identity Theft 2nd Degree and Theft 2nd Degree.
"It was a tip that came in from Washington's Most Wanted and they identified the person cashing the stolen check or the forged check as Michael Gibbs and when I pulled his photo and compared it to the video it absolutely was him. I attempted to contact him. He was currently in custody in the Snohomish County Jail on a 1st Degree Robbery charge," said Det. Pat Hatchel.
In that case, Edmonds Police say Gibbs stole the tip jar from Manna Teriyaki on Highway 99 on July 17th. When the clerk chase him out of the building, officers say Gibbs dropped the jar and it broke. When both men bent over to pick up the money, police say Gibbs showed a knife so the clerk backed off.
Officers later located arrested Gibbs after comparing him to the suspect seen on surveillance video stealing the tip jar. They say they recovered a fixed blade knife with a sheath attached to his belt, a CA driver's license in another man's name, a WA driver's license in another man's name, credit cards stolen from two victims along with stolen checks belonging to three victims.
According to court documents, Gibbs has had 9 misdemeanor warrants for failing to appear in court as well as a history of warrants in 4 different superior court cases. He faces 31 to 41 months in prison if convicted of Robbery 1st Degree.
He is currently being held on $11,500 bail.
Gibbs is WMW Capture #1112 thanks to tips from our viewers.
WANTED IN MOUNTLAKE TERRACE --
Storage unit thefts are a problem everywhere and the crooks who cash-in on good, hardworking people storing their stuff just makes me so mad.
Depending on the level of security a storage facility has -- they're prime targets for thieves -- and a woman in Mountlake Terrace knows this painfully too well. She's going through financial hell after crooks stole checks from her storage unit and turned her into an identity theft victim – but Mountlake Terrace Police hope you can help give her some justice -- by identifying a crook who cashed one of her checks on May 30th.
"He comes in the first time and this is at the Money Tree in Everett and he does cash a check for $1,000 and the gets the money and walks out great. He comes back the next day and tries to cash a check for $2,500 and it just takes a little bit longer and he gets spooked and he just walks out at that point,” said Mountlake Terrace Police Det. Pat Hatchel. “He's got some tattoos on his right arm, I can't quite figure out what they are, but they're pretty unique and they're on his upper forearm, and he's driving a white truck that appears to may be a 1990, maybe early 2000's type of pickup truck. I think that whoever got the checks probably sold them, or traded them, maybe for drugs and then someone else is sending people out and a lot of times what they'll do is they'll send someone out with this check and they will get a percentage of the money and that's how they do that. They provide the check, the name and often the fake ID. An ID was used on this one and it's not the person whose name is on there, they got a fake ID in someone else's name."
Detective Hatchel says several of the victim's stolen checks were cashed for thousands of dollars, but you can't put a price on the hardship she's still enduring. "The amount of problems that they've caused this poor victim is indescribable. I mean, she's been battling with this, because as you can imagine she's getting bounced checks back from the bank, all over and you have to prove it's not you and it's just, I feel bad for her, I'd like to catch this person, because they're going to do it to somebody else, they absolutely will and they probably already have.”
So, take a good look at this guy, the tattoos on his right forearm and the white truck he drove to the Money Tree in Everett in late May.
If you know his name, or have any information that can help identify him, use the P3 Tips App on your smart phone to submit the information to Crime Stoppers, or call the hot line at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477). It's anonymous and you'll get a cash reward of up to $1,000 if your tips help lead to his arrest.