Isn’t this supposed to be the time of cheer and goodwill toward one another? Apparently not for two real-world Grinches who robbed two “traveling home theater salesmen” at gun point, reports The Orlando Sentinel. The men were robbed at gunpoint, and their van was subsequently stolen. It was, of course, loaded with “home theater equipment.”
The two “salesmen,” who are said to have been working for “Gulf Stream Audio and Theater Concepts”, were apparently lured by two teens at a gas station to go meet with two other men. Those two other men then proceeded to rob the home theater installers/salesmen.
The two salesmen were met by the suspects, Brandon Pitts, 25, and James Edward Walker, 20, at an apartment complex, at which point the suspects reportedly pulled guns on the salesmen and demanded the keys to the van. The van was recovered a short time later, sans gear.
The first notable head-scratcher in this story is the notion that such a thing as a traveling home theater salesman actually exists. But it was details surrounding the “home theater equipment” that officially set off the BS alarms here at Digital Trends.
If you can’t tell from our superfluous use of quotation marks, this whole story stinks like two week-old garbage from a Chinese food restaurant.
According to the report, the van contained seven “JVR home theater systems” and eight “Bach & Odin projectors and screens.” Ever heard of those brands? We hope not. They are bogus names designed to sound a lot like the brand names we’re all familiar with. Brands such as JVC, or Bang and Olufsen, in this case. Unfortunately, the electronics inside aren’t worth the ink printed on the box.
The garbage gear is prominently used as part of a White Van Speaker Scam – a skeevy practice so unfortunately popular, it has its own Wikipedia page and plenty of YouTube videos to go with it. In short, scammers load up on cheap home theater gear intended to look like the real thing, then sell it in parking lots using any number of excuses to explain to unwitting buyers why they’re willing to let “name brand” gear go for so cheap.
From where we sit, the victims in this case had it coming. When cons get robbed, it’s hard to shed a tear. Still, theft is theft, and guns are guns.
Warrants have been issued for Pitts and Walker, who are still on the loose. Perhaps they’re laying low, about to discover how absolutely worthless their new speakers are. Serves ‘em right.
Anyone with information on the case can remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward by calling 1-800-226-TIPS (8477).
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