Weekend’s Strong Arm Robbery of Bargain Hunter’s $5,000 is Latest in Series of Online Sales Scams

Another strong arm robbery occurred Saturday around the Mira Monte Place and Oakland Avenue area in Pasadena, when a man who was responding to an internet advertisement was roughed up by robbers inside the suspects’ vehicle.

Pasadena police Lt. Pete Hettema said the victim could have been lured by scammers who would offer good deals online but would eventually rob the unwitting victim.

The man, Hettema said, lost $5,000 in cash to the suspects, which the officer described as a male Hispanic and a black woman. The victim also lost his cellphone and some jewelry.

“This was in response to an internet advertisement for apparently a Rolex watch or two something” Hettema. “When the individual showed up, he decided to get into the back seat of the suspects’ car and they pulled a gun on him, took his cellphone and his money and other jewelry and they took off with it.”

Police are now searching for the two suspects who have not been identified.

“They were obviously working together. She ended up pulling a gun when he got in the car and the male rifled through his pockets,” Hettema said as he quoted the victim’s statements.

The victim, Hettema said, could have suffered some injuries during the incident, as he was roughed up inside the suspects’ vehicle, but did not require hospitalization.

Hettema said people who see these online ads should be discerning enough to determine whether the ads are true or part of a scam such as that which happened Saturday.

“A lot of these things could have a seedy side to them because somebody thinks they’re getting a good deal and it’s almost too good to be true,” Hettema said. “It’s typically greed that gets them.”