Fort Pierce Police on April 15 arrested a 17-year-old boy following three alleged robberies linked to earlier transactions arranged through Facebook Marketplace, a police official said.
The robberies happened Feb. 15 on Carol Susan Lane; March 31 on Timber Ridge Lane; and April 3 on Whispering Pines Lane, according to police Maj. Michael Santiago.
The streets are close together off Tumblin Kling Road between Oleander Avenue and U.S. 1.
The victims were trying to sell electronic devices, such as iPhones or tablets, Santiago said.
“The unique part about these cases is that they all have matching MOs, matching description, and all of these locations were relatively in the same area,” Santiago said.
He said investigators spoke with the victims, utilized police databases and worked with Facebook as part of developing information on the 17-year-old boy.
“When they took the person into custody, we were able to recover property from prior robberies,” Santiago said. “This is an evolving case … so we may be able to identify and discover other things related to past cases.”
Then teen faces charges including robbery with a firearm, robbery by sudden snatching with a firearm, larceny and petty theft of merchandise, possession of a firearm by a juvenile delinquent, and use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony, police said.
Santiago suggested people be mindful of where and when they arrange to meet when selling things on line. He said there is a safe zone by the Police Department.
“If you’re going to do an exchange, make sure it’s in a well-lit area that possibly has surveillance cameras or it’s during the daytime where there are more people wary of what’s going on,” he said. “When you start doing exchanges in the middle of the night in particular addresses or residential areas, it may not be beneficial for people to do this because you never know what you can come across.”
Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a similar incident, or has information related to the case, is asked to contact police at 772-467-6800 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at www.tcwatch.org.
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Teen boy arrested in Florida after Facebook Marketplace robberies
Reporting by Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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