A Chester County man accused of stealing two kayaks from a woman’s backyard this weekend was arrested on Sunday while attempting to sell the stolen property back to the owner, according to police records.

The woman arranged to meet the accused thief to buy the two kayaks – and lead police to him – after her son found the stolen kayaks listed for sale on Facebook, an incident report states.

Rock Hill Police made the arrest the day after the kayaks were taken from the woman’s Fort Lawn home. She had arranged to meet the man in the parking lot of the Rock Hill K-Mart on Sunday night, police say.

When the man arrived with two kayaks in his truck, police officers were waiting on him. Officers charged Robert Duncan Altizer, age 25, of Fort Lawn, with receiving stolen goods, according to the police incident report.

Altizer first told officers that he bought one of the kayaks several years ago in West Virginia and that he had recently purchased the other one from a flea market in Monroe, N.C., the report states. Later, officers say he claimed to have purchased both kayaks from the flea market on Saturday – the day the woman reported the kayaks stolen.

When Rock Hill officers confronted Altizer about him changing his story, he admitted to stealing the kayaks from the woman’s backyard, according to the incident report. Officers arrested Altizer and the kayaks were returned to the owner.

Anna Douglas •  803-329-4068