A woman thought she was getting a great Craigslist deal for cheap Disneyland tickets, but had the presence of mind to snap a photo of the seller’s license plate, leading to his arrest when the tickets were found to be fake, police said today.
Police in Costa Mesa said the woman’s lingering suspicion led them to a parolee, Jonathan E. Olsen, 26, at his home. There, detectives confiscated additional invalid Disneyland tickets and drug paraphernalia, said Costa Mesa police Lt. Greg Scott.
The victim spotted two Disneyland tickets for sale for $160, and made a deal with Scott via text messages to meet at a restaurant near Fairview Boulevard and Baker Street Dec. 6, police said. The tickets were worth about $200.
The woman bought both tickets and took a cell phone photo of Olsen’s car, including its plate, Scott said. Two days later, at Disneyland, the tickets were confirmed to invalid, he said.
“Olsen reported he had originally stolen the inactivated tickets from a store prior to selling them on Craigslist,” Scott said.
He was to be booked for suspicion of petty theft and suspicion of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was also held on a probation violation at the Costa Mesa Police Department Jail prior to transfer to the Orange County Jail in Santa Ana, the police sergeant said.
Costa Mesa police detectives asked anyone who may have been victimized by the Disneyland ticket scam to call them at (714) 754-5637.
