The Colorado Springs Police Department has arrested 37-year-old Brandon Hernandez after posing as a realtor who represented out-of-state clients and would steal from the residence.
In July 2022, CSPD's Falcon Property Investigations Unit identified the suspect's crime pattern.
According to the department, a man would attend open house events across the Front Range, posing as a realtor and would steal from the residences.
Many stolen items were high-value pieces of jewelry and the four identified investigations totaled nearly $25,000 in losses.
An arrest warrant was issued for Hernandez for charges of theft, a class four felony due to the value of the items that were stolen.
Hernandez also had approximately 13 outstanding warrants including nine active felony arrest warrants. The warrants included burglary, theft, larceny, failure to comply, failure to appear and dangerous drug offenses.
The warrants had been issued from several Colorado counties including El Paso, Weld, Denver, Douglas, Arapahoe, Boulder, and Jefferson.
On July 15, Hernandez was arrested in Morrison, CO. He was in possession of suspected Fentanyl and several pieces of jewelry that were suspected to be stolen.
During a search warrant that was conducted on Hernandez's residence, officers seized nearly $50,000 worth of jewelry that was suspected to be stolen.
According to officials, Hernandez has a lengthy criminal history of similar offenses that includes giving false information to pawn brokers.
Hernandez admitted to investigators his involvement in the thefts and said he did it to support his fentanyl use.
“This is an example of how different law enforcement agencies continue to work together to protect the citizens in our communities. Unfortunately, it is another example of how the fentanyl bill fails to properly address the fentanyl epidemic in our state” Chief Adrian Vasquez stated.
A Real Estate Broker in Colorado Springs, Michael Winslow, says he is not surprised a crime like this happened at open houses.
"Not everybody is on the up and up... Hopefully they will be, but if they aren't, you have to plan for that. I tell people - Pickup your jewelry, pickup any high dollar items that you don't want anybody seeing, much less pocketing."
If you believe you were a victim of Hernandez’s scam, contact your local law enforcement agency.
If you're a resident of Colorado Springs, this is still an active investigation and anyone with information about this investigation is asked to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at (719) 444-7000.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you may call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (719) 634-STOP (7867) or 1-800-222-8477.
_____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
