A man who posed as a homebuyer in order to rob real estate agents and for-sale-by-owner sellers was arrested on Monday in Flagler County, Florida, after a Crimestopper tip naming his identity was phoned in to authorities.

The alleged offender was identified as 37-year-old Richard Pate. He has been charged with two counts of robbery, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of grand theft, allegedly committed while robbing real estate agents and FSBO sellers during "showings."

Pate may be implicated in robberies of Realtors in Georgia as well, according to news reports. Sources in Georgia say that police are considering filing charges against Pate in Brunswick County, Georgia where he allegedly robbed two real estate agents using similar techniques as in the Florida crimes.

Pate is described by previous Florida arrest reports as a white male, 5'10", brown hair and green eyes. He is a repeat offender who was sentenced in 1991 for armed robbery. He served two years in the Pinellas County jail, according to the Florida Department of Corrections inmate records.

Details of Pate's current case are sketchy, but detectives told other news media that Pate has been linked to as many as six robberies.

According to a press release issued by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Pate posed as a homebuyer and "charmed" agents and home sellers into showing him homes. Once inside, he would terrorize the women with a gun, and bind them using duct tape, flex ties or a necktie. He would then rob the women at gunpoint and also take items from the homes. Investigators believe that Pate may have been assisted by an accomplice who may still be at large.

Details regarding how the accomplice assisted Pate, or how Pate managed to lure the real estate agents into showings in the first place have not been revealed, but according to one Flagler County Sheriff’s Office police report of an agent who was bound and robbed, the agent did not mention having performed any background checks before meeting with Pate. Other reports say that Pate gave a false name, but it is unclear whether any of the agents in Florida or Georgia, or the FSBO homeseller, attempted to verify the information before meeting him at the homes.

According to the police report, the first robbery occurred when a real estate agent received a call to show a listed property and met with Pate at the home two hours later. Once upstairs, he told her that it was a robbery, and tied her hands behind her back with flex ties, and took her valuables, purse and credit cards, asking for her PIN number. He told her an accomplice would be watching her from outside and that she wouldn’t be hurt as long as she cooperated. He put her in the closet and secured her to the water heater with another flex tie. She freed herself an hour and a half later but thought she heard the perpetrator talking on the phone, so she stayed quiet in the house for approximately seven hours total until she was certain he had left.

The agent lost jewelry valued at approximately $15,350, two dollars in cash, and another $504 miscellaneous. The perpetrator also used her credit cards, reports say.

In the second Flagler County robbery, a 78-year-old Palm Coast woman allegedly met Pate at the condominium she wanted to sell on Aug. 1. He told her he was interested in making a purchase, but he needed her to accompany him to his attorney’s office. When she got in to the car, Pate told her it was a robbery and forced her to write a check for $1,000, which he cashed at her bank. Pate then drove the victim around to several banks to use her ATM cards before dropping her off in a remote northern area of the county, says a press release from the County.

Both female victims identified Pate from a photo lineup.

Says Flagler County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Deborah Johnson, “We did issue an advisory on Aug. 2 after our second occurance asking Realtors to please ask additional questions before meeting with prospects and for female Realtors not to meet anyone alone. Ask the prospective buyer for references and a place of employment before they agree to meet them.”

Safety expert Robert Siciliano has been following the case and had alerted his clients to the perpetrator’s MO and whereabouts. Of the arrest, Siciliano commented, "This does not mean that Realtors should consider themselves safe and free from harm. This is just one of many predators who focus on Realtors as their prey. Like Benjamin Franklin once said, 'To be safe is never to be secure.' So, Realtors must stay on guard and never be complacent."

Once the case is prepared by investigators, it will be sent to the Flagler State Attorney's Office, where formal charges will be decided, says a spokesperson. "Local authorities will arrest an offender with an alleged offense but that is not necessarily what the formal charge will be,” explained the spokesperson. “He'll be picked up on probable cause, then the case is forwarded to our office and we review it and make the appropriate filing decision. He could face more or fewer charges."

In addition to the South Georgia incidents, Pate is being considered as a suspect in other Florida incidents. Earlier this year, a Volusia County realtor reported being robbed in a similar manner. In that Feb. 21 incident, the realtor reported being robbed, tied up and forced into a closet while showing a home in Halifax Plantation, north of Ormond Beach, says Johnson. Six days later, three women reported a robbery in Brevard County by a man who had requested to see a home for sale. The women reported the man pointed a handgun at them and took their purses, she says.

Among the questions that authorities should find the answers to is how Pate was able to con so many real estate professionals into allowing him entry to sellers' homes. Did the agents follow identification or verification procedures before agreeing to meet with him? Or did they perform background checks based on false information given by Pate, the alleged perpetrator? The answers would be important to know for the prevention of future incidents.

Says reporter Karen Sloan with The Brunswick News, who interviewed one of the Georgia victims, rescued after using her tongue to dial a speakerphone, “I think the agents were just trying to do their jobs."

But it doesn’t hurt anyone to be more careful.

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Published: August 13, 2003

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