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HARRAH, Okla. — An Oklahoma woman set up a sting operation to get her stolen luxury wallets back and put the thief behind bars.
The Harrah mom offered some high-end accessories on Facebook Marketplace to help her family this holiday, but she said she was conned.
"I'm a single mom of three kids, and I was just selling some of the stuff to try and make some money for Christmas for my kids," said Kathryn Ferrell, who had her wallets stolen.
With her children in mind, she put some luxury purses and wallets on Facebook Marketplace last week. She was immediately contacted by a woman and invited the potential buyer to her home.
"She actually did buy purses. She gave me this whole story how she just broke up with her boyfriend and how she wanted to do something nice for herself, and woman to woman, I kind of felt that," Ferrell said.
After giving her a good deal, the woman allegedly came back the next day with her friend. Ferrell thought the woman had left empty-handed.
"I had just turned my back for a second and they were gone," Ferrell said.
The woman stole two high-end wallets valued at $4,000 and uploaded them online.
"He actually saw them for sale, right next to my post," Ferrell said.
That's when Ferrell set up the sting operation with her friend as a decoy.
"He had contacted her on Facebook Marketplace and acted interested, and she took the bait. She said, 'Let's meet at the Midwest City Police Department' and my friend said, 'Even better,'" Ferrell said.
Oklahoma County deputies were in on the setup and arrested the suspect after she admitted to stealing. However, the stolen wallets weren't the only things she brought to the station.
"There's really no words for it. I mean, the only word that comes to mind is world's dumbest criminal," Ferrell said.
The suspect was arrested on several felony charges, including possession of a firearm inside a police station.
As for Ferrell, she said she would no longer be selling items from her house.
