CHICAGO — A man is facing robbery charges after he allegedly mugged a victim during a Facebook Marketplace meet-up in a Chicago police station parking lot—and then ran into the stationhouse lobby with the stolen merchandise in his underwear.
Phillips Shockley, 24, agreed to buy an Audemars Piguet watch for $3,000 from a man through a Facebook listing, prosecutors say. Shockley met the 19-year-old seller in the Austin (15th) District police station parking lot, 5701 West Madison, around noon on February 6.
Meeting at a police station or another public place is a good idea for marketplace participants because it reduces the chances of being ripped off. It usually works. But, apparently, not 100% of the time.
When the victim presented the watch to Shockley for inspection as they stood in the police station parking lot, Shockley took a fighting stance, reached into his pants as if he had a weapon, and pushed the victim twice, prosecutors said in a detention petition.
As Shockley ran away, the victim yelled out to some Chicago cops who, as you might expect, were not hard to find.
“He just robbed me! He took my watch!” the man screamed to the officers, according to the report they filed.
It turns out Shockley didn’t go very far: Rather than running from the scene or jumping into a getaway car, he bolted into the police station lobby, prosecutors said. Even more officers were on hand to arrest him there.
According to Shockley’s arrest report, an officer found 42 small baggies of suspected crack cocaine in his pocket during a pat-down search. A sergeant discovered another bulge in his underwear during a more thorough search in the district’s lockup cell, the reports said.
After being asked by the sergeant to remove the mysterious bulge from his underwear, Shockley allegedly reached into his drawers and pulled out a white and gold Audemars Piguet watch studded with white stones.
Judge Deidre Dyer, citing the “opportunistic and random nature” of the alleged crime, granted the state’s detention petition. She also noted that Shockley was already on probation for a Will County case when the robbery occurred.
He is charged with robbery and possession of a controlled substance.
Original reporting you’ll see nowhere else, paid for by our readers. Click here to support our work.
