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Craigslist Cellphone Sale-Turned-Armed-Robbery New Trend?
iPhone 5 (Photo by Brett Jordan via Flickr)
Authorities in Glendale may have a new crime trend on their hands, after a second incident in which a would-be Craigslist sale of cellphones morphed into an armed robbery took place within a day of the first incident.This most recent incident took place last Friday on the 500 block of Hazel Street, according to the Glendale Police Department, reports the Glendale News-Press.
A 25-year-old man from Montebello says he spoke to the seller of two iPhones as advertised on Craigslist, and arranged to meet him where the seller allegedly lived, on Hazel Street.
The victim took along over $1,000 in cash and his 18-year-old cousin to the meeting spot.
After exiting the vehicle and engaging in a brief conversation with the seller, an assailant jumped out of the nearby bushes, brandishing what police say was a "black, semiautomatic handgun," aimed at the would-be buyer, and demanded the victim hand over his belongings and money.
The potential buyer explained his wallet was in the parked vehicle, and the men walked over to the car. The buyer sat in the passenger seat and looked for his wallet, and his cousin was at the wheel. The buyer then tried to wrangle the gun away from the robber, and managed to direct it away from his head.
The cousin stepped on the gas and the two fled the scene unharmed.
Authorities caution that in an armed robbery situations, victims should avoid denying the robbers the property or attempting to engage them in a physical confrontation.
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The News-Press provided the following details about the assailants:
The first man was described as Latino or white, about 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, with a mustache and wearing a dark-colored jacket. The second man was described as white, about 6-1 and 170 to 180 pounds. He was wearing a blue bandanna with white dots over his face and a dark-colored jacket.
Police say this incident is similar but not related to the incident one day earlier in which two men meeting a potential buyer for several cellphones instead became the victim of an armed robbery.
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