Sting catches Metairie man with stolen DVRs

Covington police arrested a former satellite dish installer on a charge of felony theft of goods Tuesday for having six stolen digital video recorder’s in his possession and he was allegedly trying to sell them over the Internet.

Covington police spokesman Capt. Jack West said the Covington Police Department got a call from the National Communications Services, a subcontractor for Direct TV, Oct. 23 complaining that several employees they had fired had not returned the company’s DVRs.

One of the employees, Andy Van Dang, 22, 4151 Division St., Metairie, allegedly told the company that he would not return the equipment and “there was nothing they could do about it.”

CPD police officer Casey Anthony knew that stolen satellite television equipment was sold on the Internet. Anthony found Van Dang’s cell phone number on an advertisement on a popular Web site where Van Dang was allegedly selling the stolen DVRs. Anthony set up a fictitious identity and called Van Dang to set up a meeting to purchase a DVR. They agreed to meet at a local grocery store Tuesday night.

The CPD used a reserve police officer to portray the buyer. Van Dang arrived in the store’s parking lot and he and the policeman made contact. Van Dang allegedly opened up his car and showed the fake buyer six DVRs belonging to Direct TV. Van Dang was arrested and charged with felony theft of goods and driving under suspension. Police discovered that Van Dang’s driver’s license had been suspended. West said the value of the DVRs is $894.

West said a check of Van Dang’s background showed he had an arrest history of burglary, theft and drugs in Texas and Tennessee.