CHICAGO — Anyone looking to buy or sell phones via Facebook Marketplace may want to think twice before they agree to complete a deal on one Chicago block. That’s because six people have been robbed on that block since March 6 during meet-ups arranged through the site.
The block that should raise a big red flag is the 6300 block of South Morgan in Englewood, according to a Chicago police alert.
Police said the robber and victims had arranged to meet on the block to sell or buy devices through Facebook Marketplace. The meet-ups go smoothly until the robber pulls out a handgun and orders the victim to surrender their cash and phones.
Area One detectives say robberies occurred during meetings on the block at 1:19 p.m. and again at 11:03 p.m. on Sunday, March 24. Before that, incidents were reported at 10:20 p.m. on March 6; 9:40 p.m. on March 14; 12:45 p.m. on March 14; and noon on March 21.
CPD’s alert describes the suspect as a Black male between 19 and 25 years old wearing a black hoodie and black pants.
Investigators can be reached at 312-747-8380. They’ve organized the robberies under crime pattern #P24-1-042A.
Just a few days ago, a Chicago man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to robbing a victim he met through Facebook Marketplace in 2022. Prosecutors had accused him of robbing ten people during online sales meet-ups.
Another man was recently charged with carjacking a woman whose car he had arranged to buy via Facebook Marketplace. Prosecutors say he ran over the woman with her own vehicle.
Allegations of rip-offs during transactions arranged on social media have led to several other arrests recently:
- In late February, prosecutors accused a man of robbing at least eight people during Facebook Marketplace meet-ups while he was already on probation for another robbery. Officials said the victims agreed to buy or sell tech products, usually iPads and iPhones, to a specific Facebook account. When they arrived at the meeting location, officials said, Bell would pull out a gun and demand their phones and money. He allegedly forced some victims to transfer money to a Zelle account.
- Cedric Dupree, 56, whose occupation is listed as “Preacher Man” on his Chicago police arrest report, offered his Cadillac for sale on Facebook and agreed to meet with a 26-year-old woman interested in buying it. When the woman raised concerns about the vehicle, Dupree pulled out a handgun and demanded everything she had, including the $1,500 cash she brought to buy the car, prosecutors alleged. After getting her money, he jumped into the Cadillac and drove away, they said.
- In February, prosecutors charged a man and woman with robbing a woman at gunpoint when she showed up to sell one of them a razr+ phone on February 1. One of the robbers allegedly warned the woman to “Get the f*** out of Chicago” before taking her phone and running away.
- Also in February, prosecutors charged a Dixmoor man with robbing six people he allegedly met in Chicago after arranging phone sales through Facebook Marketplace at Christmastime.
- Prosecutors charged two men in February with robbing people during meet-ups where the victims were expecting to buy or sell PlayStation 5s.
