They were new parents, looking to relocate from Louisville. At least that’s what they told realtors who they’d contacted to show them houses.
Joshua Patroze and his girlfriend, Kristin Manning, were shopping for homes with their young baby in Lexington, but police say what they were really in the market for was jewelry from the houses they were visiting. The two scam artists and thieves hit homes from central Ohio to Lexington.
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They even used made up names. Realtors they worked with knew them as Ben and Katie White.
“What they told realtors is they wanted houses that were lived in. They didn’t want staged houses and they didn’t want vacant houses,” said Joe Macaluso with the Dehli Township Police Dept.
What they wanted was the homeowner’s irreplaceable jewels, sentimental items dating back decades in some cases. In all, police estimate they hit some 100 homes, including at least one in Lexington.
“Some of the realtors we talked to said it was anywhere from wanting to see what the basement looked like, having to use the restroom, to not feeling well. There was a lot of different excuses they made to be able to separate themselves,” Macaluso said.
Altogether, detectives believe they stole upwards of 60,000 in cash and jewels. Items that, unfortunately, have since been sold to pawn shops and melted down, police say, to support the couple’s drug habit.
But their crime spree is over thanks to a realtor who became suspicious of their behavior and tipped off police. The couple was arrested Dec. 20.
Police believe there are more victims out there. If you’re a realtor and recognize the two in the photos, who went by Ben and Katie White or Ben and Katie Sloan, you’re asked to give your local detectives a call.
