Pinal County Sheriff's deputies arrest couple involved in real estate scam, home burglaries

Pinal County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Chandler couple who posed as real estate agents in order to burglarize homes.

According to police, a woman called the homeowners of a property in Saddlebrooke and identified herself as a real estate agent named Carol Porter from Chandler.

The woman told them that she had clients that were going to be in the area who wanted to view their house which was listed for sale.

The homeowners agreed to leave their home when the agent and clients would be in the area, but after calling their own agent, they discovered that Carol Porter was not a licensed real estate agent in Chandler.

They decided to stay in their home the following day despite telling the real estate agent that they would leave for a few hours.

Around 2:30 p.m., a man and woman arrived at their door.

The homeowners opened the door and startled the man and woman, and the woman again identified herself as Carol Porter.

The couple apologized and said they would return later when they weren’t home and left in a dark SUV with Nevada license plates.

The homeowners called the police. Several elderly homeowners had called earlier in the day to report the same scam involving Carol Porter.

According to police, Pinal County deputies were able to locate the suspects and stopped them on Saddlebrooke Boulevard.

The man identified himself as John Gaw, 43, a licensed real estate agent, and said they were looking at homes to buy.

The woman, identified as Deanna Gaw, 40, claimed that several items in the backseat, including women’s purses and clothing, belonged to her.

The deputy also observed surgical gloves and a silver collector coin on the floor after asking John Gaw to step out of the vehicle. Gaw admitted to the crime after being asked about the gloves.

A search of Gaw's pockets led the deputy to discover a lock pick, more latex gloves and jewelry.

The Gaws were arrested and booked into Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Adult Detention Center.

If you have any more information regarding the burglaries or were a victim of the scam, contact Pinal County officials at 520-866-5111.