Stolen Delaware excavator resold on Facebook Marketplace, recovered in Fairfield
Using GPS location data, officers located the excavator in the side yard of a Plog Road residence.
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A South Jersey man has been charged after police recovered a stolen mini excavator in Fairfield that was originally reported missing in Delaware and later resold on Facebook Marketplace.
Fairfield police charged 45-year-old Raymond Iddeen, of Millville, on Sept. 2 with receiving stolen property and fencing following an investigation into the stolen construction equipment.
The investigation began July 15, when Fairfield officers responded to Plog Road after learning a stolen Kubota U17 mini excavator was being actively tracked by GPS to the area. The excavator was originally reported stolen to the Newark, Delaware, Police Department after it was allegedly rented from a Home Depot store and never returned.
Using GPS location data, officers found the excavator in the side yard of a home on Plog Road. The homeowner told officers he had purchased the equipment through Facebook Marketplace and provided investigators with details about the seller.
During a follow-up investigation, detectives reviewed financial transactions, electronic communications and video footage connected to the sale. Police said the buyer later identified Iddeen in a photo array as the person who allegedly sold him the stolen excavator.
Iddeen is scheduled to appear in Essex County Superior Court.
