Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 17-year-old boy suspected of robbing a woman at gunpoint during a transaction arranged on a social media app, the sheriff’s department announced April 5.
The victim called police on Feb. 17 after she said she was held at gunpoint near Kiefer Boulevard and South Port Drive in Rosemont, a neighborhood southeast of Sacramento.
The sheriff’s department says the woman met with the teenage boy to conduct a transaction related to Offer Up, a popular app used by the public to buy and sell items, usually for cash.
The app bills itself as “the simplest, most trusted way to buy and sell locally.”
On April 3, detectives arrested the teenager for robbery related to the incident. He was booked into custody at the Sacramento Juvenile Hall.
During a search of the juvenile’s apartment, detectives located an assault rifle, two handguns, multiple firearm accessories, ammunition, multiple replica firearms, and counterfeit money, according to the department.
In January, two teens were arrested in Pomona in Los Angeles County for a similar armed robbery. During the incident, a couple used Offer Up right before Christmas to sell an iPad, according to media reports.
The transaction turned into a nightmare for the seller, who said the teens tried to steal the iPad from his hands. When the owner fought back, one of the suspects pointed a gun at him.
The incident was caught from multiple angles on the owner’s Tesla cameras as his wife waited in the car, NBC 4 reported Jan. 3.
One of the boys reportedly pistol-whipped the owner over the head several times as his wife called 911. She was also reportedly slammed to the ground by the suspects.
The teens allegedly ran off with the iPad, the news outlet reported.