CORNELIUS, Ore. — Police arrested a 35-year-old Portland man who is accused of dropping off half a run-down mobile home at an elementary school parking lot in Cornelius last weekend.
The mobile home, which was full of mold and contained numerous empty barrels, was dropped off at Echo Shaw Elementary School shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday.
Police received several tips from the public about an advertisement posted to Craigslist on September 13 in which a seller in Yamhill offered to pay $1,000 to have a mobile home hauled from his property.
Deputies reached out to the seller and were told that a man had responded to the ad and hauled away half the mobile home, which police say was later dumped at the school. The seller told police the man said he'd come back to haul away the second half of the mobile home and that he planned to turn the mobile home into small housing units in Portland.
At 11:30 p.m. Monday, the seller called deputies and told them the suspect was coming to the property to haul away the second half of the mobile home. Police were there to arrest him when he arrived.
The suspect, 35-year-old Derek Conley of Portland faces charges of second-degree criminal mischief, offensive littering and also has an outstanding warrant for probation violation for a felon in possession of a firearm. He's currently being held at the Washington County Jail.
Police say the half of the mobile home that was dumped at the school has been taken back to the original seller.