Be careful when meeting to buy or sell, Modesto police urge after arrests
Arrests in the robbery of a person selling an item through an online marketplace have Modesto police again reminding the public to use common sense in such transactions.
Three males, ages 19, 17 and 16, were arrested recently on suspicion of the Nov. 26 robbery in southwest Modesto. That evening, a person trying to sell a PlayStation 4 game console through OfferUp agreed to meet a buyer at the corner of Sutter and Savonna avenues.
As the victim was showing the 16-year-old the console, the 17- and 19-year-olds were hiding in the shadows behind a tree, police say. The adult, later identified as Tyrese Parker, and the 17-year-old came out wielding airsoft pistols that looked like real firearms.
After robbing the victim of the PlayStation 4, the three suspects all ran to the nearby home of the 17-year-old, police say.
The investigation of the robbery led to the arrest of the three. Parker was arrested Feb. 19 and booked into the Stanislaus County Jail, where he remained in custody Tuesday morning, with bail set at $50,000. He is set to appear in court Wednesday on the robbery charge.
The two minors, whose names were not released because of their age, were identified and arrested after Parker was caught, police say. They have been booked into Juvenile Hall.
Less than two weeks after that robbery, three more armed robberies in Modesto were committed, all arranged using the letgo and OfferUp mobile apps, police say. In all three Dec. 9 crimes, the robbers were after iPhones. “Based on the way the crimes were committed, suspect descriptions and proximity to one another, all three cases were believed to be linked together,” police said in a news release.
Investigators identified two 16-year-olds as suspects. They were arrested and booked into Juvenile Hall on charges of armed robbery.
Two other cases involving robbery victims targeted through OfferUp and letgo remain under investigation. One was the violent robbery of a mother and son that occurred on Mount Vernon Drive in October. The other was the pepper-spraying of a victim inside a restaurant in southeast Modesto recently. In both cases, the victims were either selling or purchasing an iPhone.
In a Facebook post, Modesto police urge sellers and buyers who use OfferUp, letgo, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist or Ebay to exercise common sense when arranging transactions. Pick well-lighted, public places that have video surveillance. Be suspicious of someone who wants to meet on a residential street, especially after dark, or of someone who changes the meeting spot often or suddenly.
“Detectives recommend using the chat functions provided by these apps to communicate with buyers and sellers and to not give out your personal phone number to chat with them,” the Facebook post says.
Some communities have established designated areas to help ensure safe transactions. The Manteca Police Department has made its lobby a “safe site,” and Waterford Police Services set up a “safe trading zone” in front of City Hall.
The Modesto Police Department wrote on Facebook, “We do not have a designated exchange space for this, but those buying or selling can always do that exchange in front of the station or in our lobby during business hours. Monday and Tuesday 8-5 and Wednesday and Thursday 8-6.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 8:50 AM.
