COLORADO SPRINGS — A man posing as a fake realtor was arrested by the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) on July 15 for stealing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry at open house events.
In July 2022, CSPD identified a crime pattern occurring at open house events throughout the Front Range. Law enforcement found that a man was posing as a realtor representing an out-of-state client. The suspect would then proceed to steal items from the residences.
Many of the items stolen were high-value pieces of jewelry. The four identified investigations totaled approximately $25,000 in losses, primarily involving open house events and stolen jewelry.
CSPD identified the suspect as 37-year-old Brandon Hernandez. An arrest warrant was issued for Hernandez for the charges of Theft, a class four felony (due to the value of the items stolen).
Investigations revealed that Hernandez already had approximately 13 outstanding warrants, including 9 active felony arrest warrants, which include:
BurglaryTheftLarcenyFailure to ComplyFailure to AppearDangerous Drug offenses.
These arrest warrants had been issued from several counties in Colorado, including El Paso, Weld, Denver, Douglas, Arapahoe, Boulder and Jefferson.
On July 15, police arrested Hernandez in Morrison, CO. with the assistance of the Morrison Police Department. He was taken into custody and transported to the Jefferson County Jail. At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of suspected Fentanyl and several pieces of suspected stolen jewelry.
Officers executing a search warrant on Hernandez’s residence seized approximately $50,000 worth of suspected stolen jewelry.
Hernandez has a lengthy criminal history for similar offenses, including providing false information to pawn brokers. He provided investigators with admissions of his crimes and said he stole jewelry to support his use of fentanyl.
“Unfortunately, it is another example of how the fentanyl bill fails to properly address the fentanyl epidemic in our state,” Chief Adrian Vasquez stated.
If you believe you were a victim of Hernandez’s fake realtor scam, please contact your local law enforcement agency.
If you reside in Colorado Springs, this is still an active investigation and anyone with information or who is a witness to this investigation is asked to call CSPD at (719) 444-7000; or if you wish to remain anonymous, you may call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (719) 634-STOP (7867) or 1-800-222-8477.
