AUSTIN, Texas — Authorities have provided an update to a KVUE Defenders investigation. In December, we told you about a Travis County man who lost thousands of dollars after unknowingly buying a stolen mini excavator off Facebook Marketplace.
Brandon Copley said he was using the equipment at his home in July when a repo man showed up and repossessed it, telling Copley that the mini excavator belonged to a Home Depot out of Georgia.
Copley later learned the man who sold him the mini excavator was the same man who rented it from the Georgia Home Depot. Copley wired $18,000 to that man after he delivered the heavy equipment to his home last summer.
On Thursday, the Travis County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant for Willy Tandongfor. The charge is theft of property of more than $2,500 and less than $30,000. It’s a state jail felony which means he can face up to two years in a state jail and up to a $10,000 fine.
The KVUE Defenders also learned that a man by that same name was arrested in Alabama last month after police conducted a sting operation. Authorities there believe Tandongfor is tied to a national theft operation involving heavy machinery.
Copley is excited about the news.
“I am ecstatic that they’ve issued that warrant,” Copley said. “I know recovery will still be hard, if not impossible, but making sure this guy gets put away is one of my top priorities.”
Also on Thursday, Copley filed a lawsuit against Tandongfor hoping, but not expecting, to get his $18,000 back.