Pasadena Police Arrest ‘Tire Toe’ Thief for Defrauding Elderly Victims

– Courtesy photo / wp paarz (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Pasadena Police Financial Crime Detectives arrested 57-year-old Richard Solis for elder abuse and financial crimes on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at about 7:45 p.m. in the city of Arcadia.

Detective Victor Cass had been working a months-long investigation into the suspect’s unique fraud scheme targeting elderly victims in Pasadena, South Pasadena, and Arcadia. Cass dubbed the suspect “Tire Toe” because he reportedly scammed his victims in supermarket parking lots, waiting until they got into their cars to back out of parking spaces. He would tap on their trunks or rear windows, get their attention, and then claim that they had run over his toes or foot. Solis would demand an exchange of information, sometimes threatening legal action unless they paid him money.

In five of the cases, all involving elderly women, Solis allegedly got into the passenger sides of their cars, where he would distract them before stealing their purses or wallets. In one case, he only got a dollar before the screaming victim sent him walking briskly away. However, Solis was able to defraud the first victim, the only male, out of $160,000 cash over an eight-month span, after convincing the victim that he needed more medical treatments for his injured foot. In that case, Solis reportedly threatened the victim with losing his driving privileges, to keep the payments coming.

Detective Cass tracked Solis to an apartment in Arcadia with the help of a private investigator that one of the victims had hired prior to contacting law enforcement. Solis was arrested and booked at the Pasadena City Jail. He was later transferred to the Los Angeles County Jail. Cass consolidated the cases and presented his investigation to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019. Solis was charged with one count of felony elder financial abuse and five counts of misdemeanor elder abuse. His bail was set at $290,000.

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call Pasadena Police at (626)- 744-4241 or you may report information anonymously by calling “Crime Stoppers” by dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477), use your smartphone by downloading the “P3 Tips” mobile app on Google Play or the Apple App Store or by using the website lacrimestoppers.org.