Two teens were arrested for an armed robbery that happened right before Christmas in Pomona when a couple had used Offer Up, a popular online marketplace app, to sell an iPad.
Instead of a sale, the couple was attacked and robbed at gunpoint.
Eduardo Reyes said he had planned to meet with the buyer around 10:30 a.m. on Lee Place in Pomona.
“I thought it was a kid because they informed me they were gonna be coming out with their mom,” Reyes said. “It completely took a turn and they started trying to steal it from me.”
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
The would-be transaction turned into a fight for his life, caught from every angle on his Tesla’s cameras.
“When I grabbed the iPad and turned around, one of them had a gun pointed at me,” Reyes said.
Reyes fought back and said he only held onto the iPad to keep the boys’ attention on him and away from his wife.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
“And I was also like I dunno if this gun is real or not. I don't know what’s gonna happen next,” Reyes said.
One of the boys pistol-whipped Reyes over the head several times. And when his wife attempted to call 911, the other boy slammed her to the ground and took her cell phone.
Eventually the teens ran off with the iPad, leaving Reyes bloodied from the attack.
“We want to remind people to pick a safe location, a well-lit area like your local police station or sheriff’s station. And always bring a friend or a family member with you,” Sgt. Kris Gutierrez with the Pomona Police Department said.
But after 50 prior sales on Offer Up, the couple thought meeting on a public street was safe enough.
And even after getting seven staples in his head, it seems the prospect of a payday makes online sales just too hard for Reyes to give up.
“Yes, I’d probably meet at a police station or somewhere way more public like Starbucks,” Reyes said.
Reyes says police found his wife's phone in a nearby backyard but never recovered the iPad.
Police recommend that anyone who may be making any kind of transaction online should meet during a busy time of day outside a police station.
Anyone who needs help finding a place closest to their location can visit SafeTradeSpots.com and they can find a list of locations that are under police surveillance.
