Edmond woman helps police arrest alleged Texas con man

A 60-year-old woman bested an alleged Texas con man after he tried to play doctor with her $30,000 Rolex watch.

 

According to a version of the story in the Star newspaper in Texas, the woman was attempting to sell the Rolex Presidential watch through a newspaper ad when a man who identified himself as "Dr. Reynolds" contacted her.

 

"Reynolds" told the woman he needed to meet her at Edmond Regional Hospital because he was too busy to leave for long, according to the story.

 

But, something about the deal just sounded wrong to the woman, who called Edmond police, The Edmond Sun reported. Edmond police spokeswoman Glynda Chu said the police checked out the situation and found cases in both Oklahoma and other states in which a man posed as a doctor and absconded with the merchandise.

 

In one case, at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, in fact, the man posed as a doctor wearing scrubs and other medical paraphernalia, said he needed to show the watch to some associates, then left. In a similar case out of Little Rock, Ark., police there sent Edmond police a picture of their suspect, a man named Kenneth Cox, according to the Star.

 

At the agreed upon time and place (the lobby of Edmond Regional), police arrived to find a man they believed to be Cox talking on a phone, wearing scrubs and a surgical mask, the Star reported.

 

"We were listening in on his phone conversations," Chu said. "He even had scrubs and a mask on that made him look official. When people think of doctors, they think of people that have money. But this woman did the right thing by calling us to investigate."

 

The police approached the man and arrested him, according to the Sun. In his pockets they found a newspaper clipping with the ad and a piece of paper with the hospital's waiting room phone number, the story said.

 

The Star stated Cox, 52, of Mesquite, Texas, posted $2,000 bond and faces a charge of obtaining merchandise under false pretenses.

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