A man is facing charges after more than two-dozen cases of N-95 masks were reportedly stolen from a nonprofit building supply center and an ad he allegedly placed to sell them led to his arrest.
On March 6, the ReBuilding Center reported to the authorities that between 20 and 25 cases, each holding 400 N-95 masks were missing from their premises, and they believed they had been stolen.
The ReBuilding Center, located in Beaverton, Oregon, has a mission to help with “all people and materials, particularly those perceived as liabilities and often cast aside by society, are respected and valued as community assets,” according to their website. The nonprofit had intended to donate the masks to hospitals so the workers would have more supplies for protection while they tend to patients during the spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The following day, an employee of ReBuilding Center said they believed they had a possible lead when they saw a Craigslist ad offering N-95 masks for sale. The online advertisement was reported to the police, and they used the information in an effort to try to locate the seller to see if the product being sold was the masks reportedly taken from the store.
The advertisement was reported as listing the price of the masks as $350 for one case or $600 for two, in addition to breaking up the cases into individual boxes containing 20 masks each for the price of $20. The ReBuilding Center estimated the cost of their missing masks at $2,500.
When they tracked down the purported seller, the Beaverton police paid a visit to the person in question, identified as 22-year-old Beaverton resident Vladislav V. Drozdek.
The officers reportedly found 6 cases of N-95 masks in Drozdek’s possession, and they took him into custody.
Drozdek was booked into the county jail and he is facing charges for suspicion of first-degree theft by receiving. The jail website reflects that Drozdek has been released from custody.
7 additional cases of masks have been found so far, and all of them were donated to the organizations for which they were intended.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a theft crime, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.