Teen meets new date, is robbed at gunpoint

A Coral Springs teenager — robbed by someone he met on social media to have sex — went back online to help solve the crime, police said.

The 17-year-old was robbed at gunpoint after connecting with someone on Snapchat, a cellphone app that allows people to send photos and videos.

The teen exchanged messages on the app with Andrew Alexander Lobaton, 19, of Coconut Creek, according to an arrest report. Lobaton’s screen name was “Beefings.”

At 3 a.m. July 25, outside the 17-year-old’s home, Lobaton pulled a silver handgun from his waistband, pointed it at the teen, took his $400 iPhone and drove away, police said.

The two had never met in person, but during their Snapchat conversations, Lobaton had directed him to photographs on an Instagram account — another social networking app — with the user name “Reinsert,” according to court documents.

The teen began his own investigation. Mutual friends identified Lobaton from the Instagram photos, and the teen searched the Internet for Lobaton’s name and found a mugshot, police said.

He and his father took the photo to police to report the armed robbery, the affidavit said.

Using Instagram again, the teen asked Lobaton to return the phone. Police photographed those messages and ultimately recovered the phone, which is being kept in evidence.

“Unfortunately, he was a victim of this crime,” Coral Springs Police Capt. Brad McKeone said Tuesday. “But due to his social media research, he brought a quick resolution to this case, and an armed robbery suspect was taken off the streets very quickly.”

Lobaton was arrested Friday on suspicion of committing robbery with a firearm and appeared in bond court Monday.

Judge John D. Fry ordered Lobaton held in jail without bond and told him to not contact the teen.