A felon on parole is accused of using Facebook Marketplace as a hunting ground, arranging two deals for iPhone 17 Pros and snatching the devices during the meet-ups. In one case, prosecutors said, he handed the seller $700 in counterfeit cash and threatened to shoot the man when he tried to get his phone back.
Jumanni Butler, 33, is charged with armed robbery and felony theft in connection with the two cases, which happened less than two weeks apart in Edgewater and on the Near West Side.
The first victim, a 45-year-old man, agreed through Facebook Marketplace to sell Butler his phone for $1,800, and they met at the BP gas station at 1600 West Van Buren Street to complete the deal on June 20, prosecutors said. Butler arrived in a Dodge Charger registered to him and approached the victim’s car. Prosecutors said he handed the victim an envelope containing $700 in counterfeit cash, then immediately snatched the iPhone box from the victim’s hands and ran back to his Charger.
The victim followed Butler and demanded that he return the phone. As Butler got into the driver’s seat, he allegedly reached toward the handle of a black firearm tucked into his waistband and told the victim to step back or he would shoot him. The victim jumped back, and Butler closed the door and sped away with the phone, according to prosecutors. Gas station surveillance cameras captured the encounter, and the victim reported the robbery shortly afterward.
Investigators say Butler was involved in another Facebook Marketplace theft just 12 days later. In that case, a victim agreed to sell an iPhone 17 Pro Max for $1,200. Butler allegedly met the victim on July 2 at an apartment building in the 6100 block of North Sheridan Road, snatched a bag containing the phone and ran out without paying. Surveillance video allegedly shows Butler arriving in his Charger, entering the building, running out with the bag, and driving away.
Detectives used the vehicle’s license plate and a pawn shop transaction to link Butler to the crimes. A search warrant served on his phone allegedly showed it was in the immediate area of the July 2 theft.
Butler was on parole for unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon at the time of the two crimes, according to prosecutors. He previously received a six-year sentence for armed robbery in 2012.
Judge Antara Rivera ordered Butler detained on the new charges.
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