Two Men Busted Trying to Sell Fake Televisions

Slidell--Sunday afternoon during a Mardi Gras parade, Slidell Police responded to a report of two men trying to sell televisions at a Shell Gas station (1610 Gause Boulevard), which was near the parade route.

Undercover detectives responded to the call, and when they arrived, they observed the two men loading, what appeared to be, four flat-screen televisions into the back of a vehicle. The two men were identified as 47-year-old, Clover Sims (Gulfport, MS), and 44-year-old, Lloyd Bradley (Gulfport, MS). Detectives discovered that Sims and Bradley had just sold the four televisions to a man for $280. The “victim” told detectives that Sims and Bradley approached him at the gas station and asked if he wanted to purchase the flat-screen TV’s. They agreed to a price of $280.

Detectives, suspecting that the televisions were stolen, asked if they could check the serial numbers on the merchandise. Much to their surprise, the televisions were not stolen, but were empty plastic shells with no electronics on the inside. Sims and Bradley apparently had removed the internal components of the flat-screen TV’s, and to compensate for the weight, taped rocks on the inside to make it seem legitimate to the buyer.

Sims and Bradley were both charged and booked into the Slidell City Jail with Theft by Fraud. Police believe that the duo have been doing this to multiple people in the Slidell area.

Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal says, “Most of the time when someone approaches you in a parking lot trying to sell electronics, either it’s stolen or it’s a scam. Sometimes, it could be a set up for a robbery. If you are ever approached with a scam like this, politely walk away and call police. Nine times out of ten, there’s going to be something more to it.”