October 9, 2006 (Rebroadcast)
Jul 26, 2009, 11:01 PM | Updated: Jun 5, 2012, 4:22 am
“If it looks too good to be true, it is,” says Phoenix Police Sergeant Paul Penzone.
He says this guy’s a real piece of work. He looks for vacant houses, then rents them out like their his own.
“He’s using different publications, including the newspaper to advertise these homes. And because the prices are so extremely low, people are willing to come look at the property right away hoping that they can seize it before someone else.”
He either has access to realtor keys or codes or breaks into the houses. “And then when clients come to rent out the property, he’ll show it to them, but he’ll insist on a cash deposit.”
Then he’ll take the money and run. And what about the renters? “When they try to move in, they find out by the true owners that this person had no standing over the house and wasn’t in a position to rent it out.”
Right now there are four warrants for this guy’s arrest. “And we know who he is. The problem is we can’t find him.”
“The suspect goes by the name of Steven Gene Nance. He also uses the name David Harwood or Steve Withrow.”
“He’s 49-years-old, about 5-foot-11, 145 pounds with gray hair and green eyes.”
