Craigslist deal turns into Austintown robbery and chase

Jeremiah Allen

A man who tried to buy car parts through an online classified ad service tells police he ended up being robbed in Austintown.

Not only did the prospective buyer tell police he was robbed at gunpoint, he also chased the alleged thief through four communities until it ended in Youngstown with one person being arrested.

The alleged victim tells Austintown Police Detective Jordan Yacovone that he set up a meeting outside a business on the 1000 block of North Meridian Road Friday morning to purchase some tires and rims he had seen advertised on Craigslist.

The man told police that the man he thought was there to sell the tires pulled out a gun and stole $1,100 from him.

He said the suspect then jumped into a Chevy Cobalt and sped away.

The would-be buyer jumped into his car and followed the Cobalt, calling 9-1-1 to report what had happened to him and were the Chevy was going.

The pursuer gave dispatchers a blow-by-blow account of the chase which wound its way through Weathersfield Township along Interstate 80, then Belmont Avenue and several side streets in Liberty.

Liberty Police joined the chase which ended shortly before noon at the corner of Granada and Coronado on Youngstown's north side where police converged on the vehicle.

The caller claims that one of the men in the car pointed the gun at him several times when he was following them.

Detective Yacovone says somewhere along the route, a gun was thrown from the car.

A K-9 from the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force was brought in to track down the weapon, which was located.

After questioning the two men and one woman who were in the car, police booked Jeremiah Marcus Allen, 23, of Warren into the Mahoning County jail, charging him with aggravated robbery and traffic violations.

Detective Yacovone says the other two suspects were not jailed, but may also face charges.

Becoming the victim of a robbery is just one of the risks people face when strangers meet face to face to conduct business.

To make such transactions safer, Boardman Township offers Internet Buyer’s Exchange Location Sites for those in the community who buy, sell and trade items online.

The sites allow people to exchange items in a public place that is under surveillance and located in front of and in the Boardman Police Department.

The Internet Buyer Exchange Location Sites are located at the Boardman Township Government Center, 8299 Market Street.

There are two locations — in the main parking lot and inside the building. Both locations are under 24/7 surveillance by the Boardman Police Department.

The location inside the Police Department lobby in the Government Center is open during normal business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (closed holidays).

Craigslist offers the following precautions when meeting someone for the first time to conduct a transaction:

Insist on a public meeting place like a cafe, bank, or shopping center.

• Do not meet in a secluded place, or invite strangers into your home.
• Be especially careful buying/selling high value items.
• Tell a friend or family member where you're going.
• Take your cell phone along if you have one.
• Consider having a friend accompany you.
• Trust your instincts.