This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A would-be rare coin dealer chose to do business under the Golden Arches — and ended up losing his silver when his prospective buyer turned into a thief.
Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal said the victim had advertised the rare coins on the Internet and agreed to meet a respondent at the McDonalds restaurant, 5571 S. Redwood Road in Taylorsville about 9 a.m. Tuesday.
The suspect, who called himself only "Daniel," agreed to buy the coins and with the victim walked outside to a car in the restaurant's parking lot. Inside the car and behind the steering wheel was another man. The first suspect then told the victim he would need to go to the bank to get enough money for the purchase.
The victim said he would hold onto the coins while the men made the trip, but instead the first man hopped into the car and the two suspects started to drive away.
"The victim tried to reach in and grab the coins back, but [one of the men] punched him several times and as the car sped off it knocked him to the ground," Hoyal said.
The victim escaped with minor injuries, but the thieves got away.
Hoyal described the first suspect as a possibly Middle Eastern man in his late 20s, 6-foot-2, 180 pounds and with short black hair. The second man, who drove the getaway car, also was possibly Middle Eastern, in his early 30s and with black hair, shorter than the first man, and had tattoos on the right side of his neck and on both arms.
The car was described as a late-model silver Chrysler 300.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call UPD detectives at 801-743-5950
Twitter: @remims