Teen arrested in Craigslist robbery
MUNCIE – City police have some advice for those engaging in transactions with strangers via Craigslist.
Meet to conduct those transactions in a public place — perhaps even in the parking lot of Muncie City Hall, and Muncie Police Department headquarters, at 301 N. High St.
This week, a local teenager was arrested in connection with one of several Craigslist-related holdups.
Darcell Deon Hunt, 18, 1007 N. Leland Ave., was preliminarily charged with armed robbery, a Level 3 felony carrying up to 20 years in prison.
Authorities allege Hunt was involved in a Nov. 26 incident that targeted a man who had advertised on Craigslist to sell a Playstation 4 video game system.
A person who claimed to be interested in the Playstation contacted that seller by text message and eventually persuaded him to meet in the 1800 block of West Royale Drive.
Once there, the man told police, one person flagged him down before “a second male stepped out from around a corner,” pointed a gun at the victim’s chest, and demanded the Playstation. Both of the bandits then fled the scene.
On Wednesday, Kyle Monroe, a Muncie police investigator, served a warrant at Hunt’s home and recovered the stolen game system.
Hunt was also arrested on Feb. 4, a day after he allegedly tried to steal a Playstation 4 from a Craigslist seller who had been lured to Muncie from Indianapolis.
Kyle Monroe, a MPD investigator, said his department in recent months had been probing a series of similar robberies, and attempted robberies, many targeting people selling video game systems on Craigslist.
Last June, four Muncie residents were arrested after a man said he was lured to a westside apartment — through contact that began with a Craigslist ad — with offers of sex for money.
Monroe urged online buyers or sellers to only meet strangers in very public places.
“If they don’t want to meet someplace like (the) City Hall parking lot, don’t do it,” Monroe said. “You’re looking to get ripped or, or you’re looking to get a gun pointed at you.”
Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.