SALT LAKE CITY – They thought it was a steal. Seems, a number of households bought scammed.

Whereas Derek Clark Johanson now faces a number of felony prices for promoting stolen development gear to unwitting Utahns, his alleged victims argue he’s been given too many probabilities by the judicial system.

Keep-at-home-mom Stephanie Stokes says she and her husband Carl are victims of Johanson. Charging paperwork state the Brigham Metropolis couple bought a skid steer loader from Johanson in late November of 2022.

“We had been saving for years,” Stephanie Stokes stated. “We purchased this home about six years in the past. It had no landscaping executed on the time. It simply sat on a giant hill. We simply had one little child and we have been attempting to make it flat so they may play.”

They discovered what they have been on the lookout for within the classifieds – a Caterpillar 246 C skid steer in good condition.

“The advert was listed for $14,999, however we ended up figuring out a deal,” stated Stokes. “We ended up paying $13,000.”

She stated Johanson glided by the identify Jason. After days of telephone calls forwards and backwards, the Stokes made preparations to fulfill with him in Salt Lake Metropolis.

“It occurred to be an condominium advanced again in a cul-de-sac,” Stokes stated. “We met him there within the car parking zone. [The skid steer] was sitting proper there. He stated he was shifting, they usually have been attempting to eliminate some issues that he had together with his enterprise.”

“Jason” claimed he purchased the machine years in the past and was eliminating it after shopping for a brand new one.

The Stokes stated they felt he was credible and bought a invoice of sale for the transaction. Days later, they bought a knock on the door.

“We had police displaying up at our home saying our skid steer that we bought was stolen and that it didn’t belong to us,” Stokes stated.

The Stokes returned the machine to its rightful proprietor, an asphalt paving firm.

Not solely did the household lose the $13,000 they paid for the machine, however extra cash they put into repairing it.

And they’re removed from the one victims.

Kaysville firefighter Kasey Adams and his household are out $19,000 after he was bought a 2013 Kubota in November of 2022. He stated he additionally bought the skid steer from an individual who glided by Jason.

Adams discovered a monitoring machine on the machine, and shortly confirmed it was stolen.

Identical to the Stokes, Adams returned the skid steer to its authentic proprietor. He stated he and his spouse will seemingly by no means see the cash once more.

“It was a lesson we realized the toughest means attainable, and we simply transfer on,” Adams stated. “There’s nothing else we will do.”

In 2021, KSL spoke with a Nice Grove couple who stated they misplaced $11,500 after getting scammed. A good friend despatched Draper firefighter Cody Jolley a screenshot of an article detailing the arrest of two males who have been accused of stealing $750,000 value of development gear. Jolley had just lately bought a skid steer from a kind of males, who he acknowledged from the story.

“We have been simply shocked. I couldn’t consider it,” stated Julia Jolley, Cody’s spouse. “It’s some huge cash. It’s devastating. It’s a blow.”

Sgt. Greg Moffitt with the Sandy Police Division stated this scheme is one his officers have seen earlier than.

“It may be simply so simple as having your telephone, going as much as a development web site after it’s been shut down for the day, seeing a skid steer or skid loader or some other gear that’s on scene, taking an image of it, going and loading it onto a categorized advert, and seeing if you will get any takers,” Moffitt stated.

That’s what charging paperwork say Johanson has executed again and again. He’s been convicted in six felony circumstances for such a crime.

“He was shifting that gear from these websites to fulfill the customer after which make it a transaction,” Moffitt stated.

Paperwork say the spot the place the Stokes bought their skid steer was a two-minute drive from the development web site the place it was stolen.

In accordance with Sandy Police, Johanson additionally stole a skid steer from a Christmas tree lot situated at 8995 S. State Road in Sandy. Matt Shadle has had that spot for 28 years.

“We parked it… very shut by the safety guard’s trailer,” Shadle stated.

His household depends on the skid steer for lots of their work.

“A skid steer is such a flexible instrument,” Shadle stated. “We use it for dust work, the hay behind you, we apply it to our farm, ranches for all kinds of issues.”

He stated he couldn’t consider it when his $25,000 skid steer went lacking proper from below his night time guard’s nostril.

“I get a name at 2 o’clock within the morning, all my telephones are ringing – I’m like, what’s happening?” Shadle stated. “’Your skid steer was stolen and it’s going to get impounded in the event you don’t come to get it now.’”

Not like different victims, Shadle’s skid steer was tracked down earlier than it was re-sold to an harmless purchaser.

“I wish to thank the gentleman that helped me get my skid steer again,” Shadle stated.

Stokes stated that gentleman was her husband, Carl, who had assist from his brother and a good friend.

“[They] ended up discovering one other KSL itemizing for a skid steer that seemed very comparable, bought by the identical ‘Jason,’” she stated.

The boys organized to fulfill ‘Jason,’ which police stated is Johanson’s alias, hoping to get him arrested.

“They drove down there, have been in a position to meet with him they usually referred to as 911 as quickly as they realized this was the identical man,” Stokes stated. “The police got here and he and a driver they didn’t find out about have been in a position to take off, and the police have been in a position to catch him later and save that skid steer from being stolen.”

Police say Johanson has a listing of companions he works with.

“There are folks which are of like thoughts, and in some circumstances sadly, a few of them could also be battling the identical addictions,” Moffitt stated. “They discover some type of fraternal relationship or friendship that exists between them once they have interaction in a sample of legal exercise.”

Regardless of a number of arrests and convictions, victims are pissed off Johanson retains getting second probabilities. On the time these two skid steers have been stolen, Johanson was on probation from drug court docket. Charging paperwork stated he was carrying an ankle monitor on the time.

“He form of will get a slap on the wrist and will get again out, and will get proper again at it,” Stokes stated.

“He got here into an settlement with the court docket to attempt to get his life rotated, he went out, subsequently dedicated new offenses, these new circumstances have been dropped at us, we filed on that, and we’re going to remove the privilege from him as a result of he apparently just isn’t getting the profit from that,” Salt Lake County District Legal professional Sim Gill informed KSL.

After he was booked on the finish of 2021, charging paperwork state officers listened to Johanson inform his spouse on the telephone that “he can be okay as a result of he would simply get drug court docket.” Johanson was right. He was given the chance to finish the Salt Lake County drug court docket program as an alternative of going to jail.

“It’s definitely not unusual that there are individuals who get the advantage of getting a possibility to get assist and never everyone efficiently completes that,” Gill stated.

Gill stated he plans to maneuver ahead with the case and see it to the tip.

“Now he’s going to be held accountable to the complete extent of the regulation on earlier circumstances, in addition to the brand new one,” he stated.

It’s small consolation for the Utah households who misplaced sizeable quantities of cash after shopping for the stolen skid steers.

“We’ve needed to put a variety of issues on maintain, and what we have been attempting to make occur in all probability received’t occur,” Stokes stated.

Johanson is presently being held with out bail. He has a court docket listening to scheduled for subsequent week.

The Sandy Police Division recommends consumers use e-commerce areas in police division parking tons for transactions. In addition they stated it’s useful to register serial numbers for property, like skid steer loaders, on the Nationwide Crime Data Middle database. In addition they suggest placing monitoring gadgets on the gear.

“If in case you have some strategy to personalize that gear by an engraving or one thing alongside these strains, that offers it yet another figuring out character,” Moffitt stated.