CLARK COUNTY, Wash. — The Clark County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) are looking into a man for stealing dozens of utility trailers, up to as many as 60, over the past year, and reselling them to unsuspecting buyers online in the Portland metro area and Southwest Washington.
Deputies arrested and charged Nickolas Edwards, 32, from Gresham with one count of theft of a motor vehicle, two counts of first-degree theft, and four counts of first-degree trafficking in stolen property.
So far, investigators recovered half a dozen stolen trailers after serving search warrants at several locations, CCSO said.
Detectives believe Edwards is associated with addresses in Gresham, Ore. and Battle Ground, Wash.. When selling the trailers online, they said he uses the aliases "WebbJJ," "Joshua James" and "Joshua J. Webb," and has been known to forge titles and other paperwork, using these aliases when selling the trailers, according to the CCSO.
CCSO also believes there could be significantly more victims, as well as people who may have bought these stolen trailers.
They said the suspect has a lifted white 2011 Dodge Ram full-sized pickup truck, with blue lighting under the vehicle and front wheel well. Officials believe Edwards is also associated with a tan full-sized Chevy/GMC SUV, also lifted with black wheels, and that both of these vehicles have been used to steal several trailers.
"If somebody bought a trailer, especially if it was a no-title, cash-only kind of purchase of a utility or dump trailer, and when the person who showed up to drop it off, had this Tahoe or had a Dodge Ram pickup truck, [detectives] would be interested in talking with them," said Sgt. Chris Skidmore.
CCSO is asking anyone that may have evidence indicating these vehicles are involved in a trailer theft, or if anyone purchased a trailer from the suspect in this case, please contact CCSO Detectives Brown at dan.brown@clark.wa.gov and Page at elijah.page@clark.wa.gov.