Couple duped by Craigslist ad into renting vacant North Bay home

A Marin County Sheriff’s deputy takes Francisco Reyes, 34, into custody on a probation violation after he and a pregnant woman were found moving into bank-owned home in Bel Marin Keys. Officials said Reyes answered a scam Craigslist ad and was duped into renting the house. less A Marin County Sheriff’s deputy takes Francisco Reyes, 34, into custody on a probation violation after he and a pregnant woman were found moving into bank-owned home in Bel Marin Keys. Officials said Reyes ... more Photo: Marin County Sheriff’s Office / / Photo: Marin County Sheriff’s Office / / Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Couple duped by Craigslist ad into renting vacant North Bay home 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

A man who rented a Marin County home through a scam Craigslist ad not only learned he was fleeced, but that he was wanted on a probation violation when sheriff’s deputies knocked on the door to investigate why he and a pregnant woman were living there, officials said.

Francisco Reyes, 34, and the woman were moving into a bank-owned home in Bel Marin Keys that is up for sale, Lt. Scott Harrington of the Marin County Sheriff’s Department said Friday.

Deputies were called to the house on Wednesday after a worker servicing the pool noticed the couple moving in with their dog. The worker thought the house was supposed to be vacant, so he called the property management company who in turn contacted the sheriff’s department.

When deputies arrived, Reyes answered the door and told them he had rented the house through a Craigslist ad. He said he paid a man $6,300 and signed what he believed to be a legitimate lease agreement, Harrington said.

While running a criminal background check, deputies learned Reyes had a warrant out of Sacramento for violating his probation for domestic violence. While police were talking to him, he suddenly bolted for the front door and down the street.

Deputies lost sight of Reyes when he ran into a neighbor’s backyard. They looked for him for about 15 minutes before a plainclothes officer spotted him running down Bel Marin Keys Boulevard.

Reyes ran behind another house and a neighbor came out and directed deputies to a nearby yard.

As the deputies closed in, Reyes scaled a fence, jumped into a nearby lagoon and began to swim away. After a few yards, he gave up and swam back to the deputies, Harrington said.

Reyes is facing charges of probation violation and resisting arrest. Neither him nor the woman are facing charges for entering the vacant house.

“They look like they were renting it out of good faith,” Harrington said. “We’re going to be looking at the Craigslist ad. From our perspective, they’ll be victims of a fraud on that incident.”

Police have not yet determined how the couple entered the house, but the property management company has since changed the locks.

Alison Graham is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: agraham@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @alisonkgraham