KIRO NEWSRADIO OPINION

Gee: Wait, what?! You’re selling a stolen excavator on Facebook Marketplace?

Sep 30, 2026, 4:00 PM

stolen excavator...

This stolen excavator was listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace. (Photo courtesy of the Pierce County Sheriff's Office)

(Photo courtesy of the Pierce County Sheriff's Office)

There are certain things you see for sale on Facebook Marketplace where the price is so good, you’ve got to ask a few more questions.

A couch for $50? OK. A practically brand new TV for $100? Hmmmm. An excavator for $24,000? Wait, what?! So, where exactly did you get this excavator?

Pierce County deputies reported an excavator was stolen from a construction site off Mountain Highway East on Sept. 19. Six days later, the owner reportedly found his own excavator listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace.

That alone is wild, but it gets better. The seller was asking $24,000, and the owner recognized the blue garage doors in the listing photos, according to MyNorthwest.

Why? Because those garage doors belonged to a storage facility across the street from his company’s Parkland plant.

A stolen excavator and a deal too good to be true

You allegedly stole somebody’s excavator? And then conduct the resale operation across the street from them? Bruh!! Then, deputies set up a meeting with the seller and arrived while multiple prospective buyers were reportedly checking out the excavator.

The 23-year-old suspect was arrested, and prosecutors charged him with possession of a stolen vehicle and trafficking stolen property. Authorities said the excavator was returned to its owner.

Facebook Marketplace can be wonderful. I’ve bought some things online. Maybe you’ve bought things online. Everybody loves finding a deal, but there is a point where a deal becomes TOO good.

If somebody is selling a $3,000 refrigerator for $1,500? Maybe they’re moving. A $900 television for $400? Maybe they upgraded.

But when somebody pulls back the curtain and says, “How about an excavator?” we have officially entered the portion of the transaction where I’m going to need paperwork. A receipt, a title, a serial number, or a picture of you and the excavator when you were kids. Either way, y’all gotta chill with stealing from folks and then trying to sell it on Facebook.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.

Gee and Ursula Show

KIRO Newsradio Opinion

mariners john stanton changes...

Ursula Reutin

Ursula: John Stanton is embarrassed. So what’s going to change?

Seattle Mariners chairman John Stanton expresses embarrassment. Ursula Reutin expanded on what changes lie ahead for the team and its fans.

4 hours ago

stolen excavator...

Gee Scott

Gee: Wait, what?! You’re selling a stolen excavator on Facebook Marketplace?

A stolen excavator listed for $24,000 on Facebook Marketplace caught its owner’s eye, and led Pierce County deputies straight to the seller.

6 hours ago

earthquake...

Ursula Reutin

Ursula: Tuesday’s earthquake is a reminder to prepare for ‘the big one’

Tuesday’s 4.2 magnitude earthquake near Gig Harbor was not “the big one.” But it was a reminder to prepare.

9 hours ago

RV encampment...

Jake Skorheim and Spike O'Neill Show

‘Kids or drug addicts?’: Jake and Spike blast Seattle’s response to Woodland Park RV encampment

KIRO hosts Jake and Spike question Seattle’s response to an RV encampment raising safety concerns for young runners at Woodland Park.

9 hours ago

seattle minimum wage...

Jake Skorheim

Jake: Seattle’s minimum wage is $22.14. The real minimum is zero

My first job paid about $5.50 an hour. It wasn't going to make me rich, and that wasn't the point. I was picking up skills I could trade for better pay later.

10 hours ago

governor bob ferguson chess...

Charlie Harger

Harger: Gov. Bob Ferguson is a two-time state chess champion. Washington politics is his board now

Governor Bob Ferguson is smart. You don't make the move from the King County Council to the attorney general's office to the governor's mansion without being smart, savvy, and strategic.

15 hours ago

Gee: Wait, what?! You’re selling a stolen excavator on Facebook Marketplace?