Minneapolis police earlier this week arrested two teens for stealing $6,000 at gunpoint from a dog seller they met through Facebook Marketplace. Police are still looking for the remaining suspects who are on the run. A total of five people were involved in the robbery.
Teens arrested, charged after using Facebook Marketplace to lure and rob unsuspecting dog seller
Police records show the incident happened on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at around 1:53 am. It’s reported that the robbery victim — whose identity hasn’t been disclosed to the public — had been in contact with one of the teens prior to the robbery.
According to KSTP-TV News, the teen reached out to the victim wanting to buy a dog they (the victim) had advertised on Facebook Marketplace. The teen proposed a meetup, and the unsuspecting dog seller agreed to it. Unknown to the seller, the teen had other plans that had nothing to do with purchasing a dog.
The victim told authorities that while they were at the agreed meeting point waiting for the teen “buyer”, a gold Cadillac pulled over. Suddenly, five individuals with guns got out of the vehicle. Then, one robber ordered the victim to get on the ground, threatening to shoot if they dared look at the vehicle’s registration plate.
The group stole $6,000 in cash from the dog seller before fleeing in their car.
Luckily, the victim was able to flag down police officers and narrate their ordeal. In a matter of minutes, the officers located the robbers’ vehicle. Three people in the Cadillac took off on foot as soon as they saw the police, leaving behind a teen driver. The driver was arrested immediately.
While searching the area in pursuit of the three suspects, police found one teen near a gas station. He was missing a shoe and had “a large amount of money on him.”
The two arrested teens are each facing first-degree robbery charges.
