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The man had attempted to buy a skid-steer tractor through a Craigslist.com ad on Feb. 25, police said. On March 9, he received a call from a man calling himself John asking whether he was still interested in purchasing the tractor, the police report said.
He met the sellers at the Home Depot in Stratford, but he told officers he became suspicious because the tractor looked "brand new," police said. The man told the sellers that he couldn't pay the full asking price of $16,000 and offered to take the tractor back to Fairfield and pay them the next day, police said.
The purchaser called a friend who is knowledgeable about heavy machinery who confirmed the tractor was new and worth $58,297, police said. The two men pulled back stickers on the machine, revealing an F&W Equipment logo, police said. Fairfield police contacted F&W Equipment in Orange and the Orange Police Department, confirming the tractor was stolen.
On Monday, officers were at the man's house when the sellers arrived to collect the money, police said. A blue Ford Explorer with Georgia plates arrived and four people got out, with three confirmed to have been at the Home Depot the previous day, police said.
All four were taken into custody and brought to the Fairfield Police Headquarters. Stephen Verity, 23, of West Haven; Nicole Berg, 21, of West Haven; Nicholas Verity, 26, of Stratford; and Jamie Roberts, 19, of Fairfield, were all arrested and charged with first-degree larceny and first-degree conspiracy to commit larceny. Each was held on $100,000 bond with a court date of March 18.
Nicholas Verity was also charged with second-degree forgery because police said he had a fake I.D. in his possession and four counts of second-degree failure to appear in connection with undisclosed incidents.
Jamie Roberts was released on bond later. Her father and uncle were arrested on assault charges related to an argument over bond, Fairfield police said. Read that story here in the Daily Voice.
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