Men charged for alleged scratch-off ticket theft ring operating in El Paso County
Celeste Springer
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – Four men have been indicted for their alleged participation in a scratch-off ticket theft ring operating across Colorado, Attorney General Phil Weiser said.
According to the indictment, many of those locations were in El Paso County and the Colorado Springs area.
Richard McBee, Adam Pacheco, Tawny McCurry, and David Goetken are facing varying charges. McBee, based on information in the indictments, appears to be the purported ring leader as he allegedly participated in the most thefts.
According to the attorney general’s office, McBee would target gas stations that only had a single store clerk working. Then, he or an accomplice would reportedly lure the employee away by saying any number of things, including that their card was stuck in a gas pump, they needed to buy propane, or they spilled gasoline outside.
Then, McBee or an accomplice would allegedly jump across the unattended counter and steal scratch-offs.
The attorney general’s office says the total value of the thefts was over $150,000.