Brian from E Pine’s Fleet Feet sends word to fellow Capitol Hill merchants — be on the lookout for a notorious Seattle scam artist:
Yesterday we had an encounter with ‘Big Hands Guy’. I was familiar with him from the last time he ripped off the store in 2006. The hands are a big giveaway. I managed to thwart his attempts to steal some inserts from us, and then I followed him out of the store threatening to call the cops. He verbally berated me some highly insensitive language and then went on his way. I want all retailers on Capitol Hill to be on the lookout for this guy. If you ‘Google’ big hands guy Seattle, you’ll learn all you need to know about this infamous scam artist. Just wanted to give you the opportunity to warn the retail community.
Here are some accounts about his exploits in other Seattle neighborhoods. His modus operandi in the past has been to sneakily attempt to return items plucked from the shelves on the same visit. Tricky! If you find him in your store, you might want to give SPD call. Of course, Brian says he did just that after Big Hands Guy left. The cops reportedly told him to call back if the man returned.
He looks like a guy that I have run into at least 5 times, every time giving me the same story about his vehicle running out of gas and he just needed 20 dollars or so to get home to Mount Vernon.
I was thinking the same thing… if it’s the same guy then he’s elevated himself from panhandler to thief :/
He was standing on the corner chatting up some apparent tourists. His hands were waiving around. I had never seen him before but knew something was off. Good to know to steer clear of this clown.
we have a real photo of him. He is guilty of stealing cash and another wallet from samadhi yoga, and also a wallet from bluebird’s cafe! Seriously watch out for this dude!
Seriously.. multiple years of people reporting the same guy committing crimes.
Especially when he is so recognizable. He looks like a character actor from a 70s sitcom!
More photos (and video!) are here: http://dandelionbotanical.com/scam.html
He was just spotted trying to return some saffron at Central Co-op.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/rvratner/7834344052/in/photostr
He was in my store today in Roosevelt neighborhood.
FYI