January 13th, 2010
Deputies looking for ‘pigeon drop’ suspects

STAFF REPORT

The Hays County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) is looking for two men who ran a “pigeon drop” on an unsuspecting man Tuesday in Buda.

Deputies are looking for two men, both black and in their 30s. One is about 5-feet-10, last seen wearing a black jacket, black pants and a black golf style hat. Deputies said the man has a heavy Nigerian accent. The other man is about six-feet tall, last seen wearing black clothing and a “McDonald’s type” name badge.

The HCSO was called to the Chevron/McDonalds located at Main Street and the eastside Interstate-35 frontage road in Buda, where two men were last seen after bilking a victim of money.

Deputies said a man was driving his vehicle in the parking lot of the H-E-B Plus! at Kyle Parkway and IH-35 when he was flagged down by a black male suspect.  The suspect told the driver that he had a sizeable amount of money he would like to give to the needy and showed the victim a wad of cash. When the driver agreed to help, the suspect entered the vehicle and instructed the driver to drive to the Chevron in Buda.

Once they arrived, a second suspect exited the store wearing what was described as a McDonald’s name badge, saying he was the manager of McDonald’s. The second suspect agreed to help give money away and made a monetary contribution to the venture. Then, the two suspects asked the driver to show good faith in their effort by adding his money to their money.

The driver agreed, so the parties drove to a bank in Kyle, where the driver withdrew money and added it to the bag of money to be given away. The driver also withdrew money that he kept separate as his own spending money.

The three then drove back to the Buda Chevron, where the two suspects exited the vehicle with the money and told the driver they were going to walk around the building to discuss what they would do. When they returned, they told the driver to give them the rest of his money. The driver complied and the suspects left with all the money.

The suspects left by going to the rear of the business and were last seen going in a northerly direction. No suspect vehicle was seen and the victim was not injured. Deputies did not indicate how much money the man lost in the scam.

This scam is referred to as a pigeon drop, which is often used to bilk victims out of money.

Anyone who has seen the suspects or may have been a victim to the scam is asked to contact the HCSO Criminal Investigations Division at (512) 393-7814. The investigation is ongoing.