Man’s Facebook Marketplace Listing Leads Police to $2,700 Stolen Unicycle
Selling something on Facebook Marketplace generally works better when the previous owner isn’t browsing the listings and can recognize it. Hillsboro Police say a $2,700 electric unicycle reported stolen earlier this month resurfaced for sale online, complete with a distinctive scuff mark that helped its owner identify it.
The InMotion electric unicycle was reported stolen from a Hillsboro resident on September 6. Four days later, police learned that a unicycle matching the missing property was being offered for sale on Facebook Marketplace by 31-year-old Jackson McFarlin.
The victim provided another detail that gave investigators something more specific than the make and model to work with. According to police, the owner recognized a distinctive scuff mark on the unicycle being advertised as one present on the stolen unit.
Police subsequently arrested McFarlin on September 19 in connection with the investigation. He was charged with felony theft by unauthorized taking and felony receiving stolen property and is expected to appear in 6th Circuit District Court in Hillsborough at a later date.
Distinctive Scuff Mark Helps Identify $2,700 Unicycle
Embedded Facebook media follows; please give it a moment to load completely.
The Hillsboro Police Department also published information about the case through its Crimewatch page in addition to announcing the arrest on social media. The department’s account identifies the Facebook Marketplace listing and the victim’s recognition of the scuff mark as part of the investigation leading to McFarlin’s arrest.
Police did not provide additional information explaining how the unicycle was originally taken on September 6 or how investigators say it came into McFarlin’s possession. The available release also does not disclose the asking price on the Marketplace listing or indicate whether anyone attempted to purchase it.
Those missing details matter because McFarlin faces both theft by unauthorized taking and receiving stolen property charges, while the short police account does not lay out the evidence supporting each offense. The charges remain accusations, and McFarlin is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
New Hampshire Corrections Search Provides No Additional Information
We also searched the New Hampshire Department of Corrections website for additional publicly available information concerning McFarlin. That search did not return any information that added to the Hillsboro Police Department’s account of the arrest.
As a result, no additional custody, incarceration, or corrections information could be independently established through that search. The absence of a matching Department of Corrections record should not be interpreted as evidence that McFarlin was detained, released, or given specific bail conditions following his arrest.
For now, Hillsboro Police say McFarlin will appear before the 6th Circuit District Court in Hillsborough at a later date. No specific court date was included in the department’s announcement.
Another New Hampshire Theft Case Involved a Much Larger Ride
Guessing Headlights recently covered another unusual New Hampshire theft case, although the vehicle involved was considerably harder to fit into a Facebook Marketplace listing. New Hampshire State Police said a man took a Whitefield Fire & Rescue truck while firefighters were responding to an overnight house fire in Dalton.
Police said the rescue truck struck a fire engine, traveled over water-supply lines, and narrowly missed three firefighters before later crashing on another property. The defendant ultimately faced several charges, including two counts of theft by unauthorized taking, along with burglary and three counts of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon.
The circumstances are dramatically different, but both cases involve unusual property and a New Hampshire defendant facing a theft-by-unauthorized-taking charge. Our previous story, “Dalton Man Stole Rescue Truck From Fire Scene, Police Say,” has the full account.
