Volusia sheriff’s detectives have an arrest warrant out for a Florida man who duped women and then stole from them.
Joseph L. Davis, 48, who went by “Joe Brown” with one girlfriend and “Marcus Brown” with the other, is wanted on a felony charge of grand theft.
His current address and whereabouts are unknown but he has ties to multiple counties throughout Florida and other states.
According to authorities, earlier this year, an Orange City woman came forward and told detectives that she discovered her boyfriend was engaged to someone else. She said she then looked up the other woman’s Facebook page and noticed a photo of her wearing a wedding band and engagement ring that was identical to her own, from a prior marriage.
When she went to check her jewelry box, she discovered her rings and several other pieces of jewelry were missing, including a diamond ring that belonged to her grandmother.
The jewelry that was stolen is valued at approximately $6,270.
The victim confronted “Brown” about the thefts. She also began communicating with the other woman, who after learning she had been tricked, was all too happy to return some of the victim’s property.
With both relationships over due to “Brown” being a lying, cheating, thief, the victims began cooperating with each other and detectives.
The Orlando woman described how “Brown” had fooled her, too – even taking her to the Orange City victim’s house while she was at work, claiming the house was his, and asking her to move in with him.
The Orlando victim told detectives she packed up her apartment, disassembled her furniture, and was ready to move in. However, right before she was supposed to move in “Brown” told her the deal on the house had fallen through.
The Orlando victim also reported a laptop and jewelry were missing from her apartment after “Brown” moved out and disappeared.
Both women reported they met “Brown” on the same dating app, OkCupid, in 2015 and 2016, but both were given a false name.
When detectives searched databases and shared photos of “Brown” with other law enforcement agencies in hopes of identifying him, they came up empty. However, the Orlando victim remembered the name and address of a niece that “Brown” had in North Carolina. With that information, detectives were able to track down a woman who turned out to be the sister of Joseph Louis Davis, whose photos matched the photos provided by both victims.
Davis, as it turns out, has a record as a convicted felon out of Oregon and North Carolina. Additionally, he has an active arrest warrant out of Oregon for a hit and run crash with injuries.
His prior arrests include possession of fictitious ID, filing a false police report, domestic assault, and possession of cocaine with intent to sell. In one of his out-of-state booking records from 2014, the jail listed a tattoo described as a cross with “Only God can judge me” on his left arm – identical to the tattoo both victims described their boyfriend/fiancée as having.
Detectives say it is very possible that he has other victims. Victims may want to consider getting tested for an STD.
Anyone with information about Davis’ whereabouts is asked to contact the Volusia Sheriff’s Office at 386-668-3830 and ask for Detective Wheeler. If you want to remain anonymous and qualify for a potential cash reward, you can contact Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 888-277-TIPS, or via the P3 Tips app.
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