Robbers Use Facebook Marketplace As A Set Up In Wash Heights

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A group of three people are setting up Facebook marketplace transactions for a jewelry chain in Washington Heights and then robbing the other unexpected party at either gunpoint or knife point, according to the police.

The first deal gone sour happened on March 2, when two men met the three unknown people at 501 178th Street, according to police. Upon arrival, one of the three robbers displayed a gun and demanded the two men's property — including the chain they had brought to sell, and a wallet, cellphones, and cash, police said.

The second robbery took place 10 days later on March 12, when two women again met three unknown people with plans to sell them a chain, according to police.

Once at the Amsterdam Avenue and West 182nd Street meeting point, one of the three robbers punched one of the women in the face and demanded their things, according to police.

In the subsequent scuffle, one of the women was struck by a gun and the other woman had a knife pointed in her direction, police said. The three robbers again fled the scene with a new chain, a wallet, cell phones, and cash, according to police.

The two women refused medical attention, police added.

On Wednesday, police released a photo of one of the men wanted in connection to the robberies.

Anyone with information in regard to the identity of this individual is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).