The ads popped up Saturday afternoon, saying the owner of a Jacksonville home was forced to leave the area suddenly and his belongings, including a horse, were free for the taking, said Jackson County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Colin Fagan.
But the ads were a hoax. Robert Salisbury had no plans to leave.
The independent contractor was at Emigrant Lake when he got a call from a woman who had stopped by his house to claim his horse.
On his way home he stopped a truck loaded down with his work ladders, lawn mower and weed eater.
"I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back," Salisbury said. "They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did."
Must be a liberal. Except I know that liberals don't work. He must have been going to put it up for sale on Craigslist. :-)
The driver sped away after rebuking Salisbury. On his way home he spotted other cars filled with his belongings.
Once home he was greeted by close to 30 people rummaging through his barn and front porch.
Hey, which one of you dumba$$es has my shotgun?!
The trespassers, armed with printouts of the ad, tried to brush him off. "They honestly thought that because it appeared on the Internet it was true," Salisbury said. "It boggles the mind."
No they didn't. Or they wouldn't be carrying printouts of the ad. They were just having a bit of denial is all.
Jacksonville police and Jackson County sheriff's deputies arrived but by then several cars packed with Salisbury's property had fled.
Probably came with their sirens and lights on so nobody would be around to confront.
He turned some license plate numbers over to police. By late Monday, s ome people who learned of the hoax began to return items taken from the home. Authorities weren't able to say how much or what had been returned, but did say that by late Monday afternoon, items were "starting to piling up" in Salisbury's driveway.
Give everyone two days to return all his stuff. After a week, they start running plates. If someone is found with his stuff, they're toast.
Michelle Easley had seen the ad that claimed Salisbury's horse had been declared abandoned by the sheriff's department and was free to a good home.
"I can't stand to see a horse suffer so I drove out there and got her," Easley said. "The horse didn't look abandoned. She is in good shape for being 32 years old." But it looked odd, so she left a note on Salisbury's door explaining the ad. She then decided to call to make sure the ad was legitimate when the second similar ad appeared.
"I feel bad because I was a part of it," Easley said. "It felt right to call the police."
If you like 'em stoopid, it doesn't get better than this unless you prefer the drooling kind.
Fagan praised Easley's
Officers were still contacting people who were seen leaving Salisbury's house with his stuff. If they return the taken items, no charges will be filed. But people who donÂ’t return what they took may face charges.
May face charges? If they don't, I'm going to start writing craigslist ads like this and just go take what I want! Here's an example: "Ben's Jewelers inventory reduction event! If you can steal it in the middle of the night, it's yours!"
Items can be returned with no questions asked, Fagan said.
Lucky ba$tards. I'd grill every one of them alive and put the rest on my homeowner's insurance.
Detectives have contacted Craigslist's legal team to try to trace the ad.
This guy is probably the King Idiot in this story.
Meanwhile, Salisbury could not even relax on his porch swing -- someone took it.
Well, when they catch the guy you can make a new one out of his bones and sinews. His ribs would make a great seat and his cut-open skull a great beer holder. It can serve as a warning to the next one who tries this $hit.