Police: Man Who Bilked Veteran Out Of $17K Also Scammed Arlington Couple
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - Arlington police said a suspect who scammed a couple out of $1,200 is the same man who knocked on a Vietnam Veteran's door in Mesquite offering to repair her roof, and ended up $17,000 richer without fixing a thing.
Both the Arlington and Mesquite police departments are asking for the public's help finding 36-year-old Joshua Bell.
Calling himself "Michael," Bell allegedly lied about working for a reputable roofing company when he showed up at a home in the 300 block of Circle Drive in Arlington. He told the homeowners he was an employee of a roofing company they had actually used in the past -- and that he was there to do some work on their roof before their warranty expired.
But after Bell took their payment for his "services" something felt off. Thus the couple called the roofing company, who told them they had not sent anyone to their home that day.
When a manager for the company looked at surveillance video captured by the homeowners' RING doorbell, he said he did not recognize Bell, aka "Michael" and said nobody matching his description works for them.
The company also checked out their roof and determined no new work was done.
Surveillance video from the Arlington incident shows a newer model pickup truck that Bell was driving.
Bell travels frequently from the Austin to Dallas area, and is likely staying in hotels in and around Dallas. Bell is known to drive a silver 2019 Chevrolet Silverado Z71 Trail Boss Edition (TX LP MSH-2023).
Bell has ties to the Austin and Gainesville areas, and currently has multiple warrants issued for his arrest.
The Mesquite Police Department has an active warrant issued for Bell for Theft of Property.
Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5000.00 for information called into Crime Stoppers that leads to the arrest and indictment for this felony offense. If you have information about this crime, call Crime Stoppers at 1-877-373-TIPS (8477); or contact Investigator A Soto at 972-216-6704.
