OfferUp app behind robbery, police say
A couple intended to buy a car from the man for $5,000, report says.
A West Palm Beach man used the smartphone app to rob a couple who thought they were buying a car from him.
WEST PALM BEACH — A West Palm Beach man used the OfferUp smartphone app to rob a couple who thought they were buying a car from him, city police said in arresting the man last month.
Larry Young Jr. remained in the Palm Beach County Jail early Thursday following his arrest Friday on charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm by felon.
A judge set bail at $48,000 for Young, who has been found guilty of grand theft auto twice before, according to court records.
OfferUp allows people to sell items to each other without a retail store or a middleman. On April 25, a man and his girlfriend messaged Young, posing as Mario Sanchez, who had posted on the app an offer to sell a 2012 silver Audi Q5 for $5,000, police said.
Young and the man met at about 2 p.m. that day in a parking lot along Broadway, where the man
inspected the car, police said.
The couple met Young again at about 5 p.m. at the Walmart Supercenter in Lake Park. The man told police Young said he needed to go to his dad’s house to get the title, and they drove behind him to 43rd Street in West Palm Beach. There, Young told the man to wait for his dad to leave.
After about 15 minutes, the man approached Young to ask what was taking so long. Then a car parked behind the couple’s vehicle and two men jumped out, with one pointing a gun at the man’s head, according to police. The armed man took his wallet, which had about $1,200 cash, and his iPhone 7, according to the report.
Another armed man went to the couple’s car, pointed a gun at the woman and demanded money, police said. He took the $5,000 cash for the car sale and another $400 from her purse, according to the report.
The man told police he heard Young yelling, “Get the money, grab their phones, hurry up, let’s go,” according to the report.
The Audi then fled west on 43rd Street and the other car drove north toward 45th Street, police said.
The woman had the vehicle ID number for the Audi, which police ran and matched with Young, according to the report. Officers then showed Young’s photo to the couple, who identified him.