800 area of Kilbreth Street, Salinas | Google Maps
SALINAS — A 21-year-old man noticed a sign in East Salinas advertising a house for rent. The sign did not provide an address, only a phone number. The man called the number and was given an address by a man on the other end of the line: in the 800 block of Kilbreth Street.
The young man then drove by the house and noticed it was being renovated. He agreed to meet the owner.
The two met at a restaurant in North Salinas and discussed details of the rental agreement. The young man signed the agreement and placed a down payment, after which he was given keys and a garage door opener. Once he reached the home, however, he discovered that the keys and opener didn’t work. That was when the home’s real owner arrived and informed him that the house was not for rent.
The victim then called the other “owner” and found that the number had been disconnected. Officers are following up on leads and asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect, described as in his a Hispanic man in his 30s, 5-foot-10, green eyes, and clean-shaven. He is also said to have been driving a white, newer-model Ford Expedition.
