Cell phone sale over social media ends in robbery

A local man who said he arranged to purchase a cell phone on Facebook told police he was robbed when trying to complete the transaction.

The victim told Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies he arranged, over Facebook, to buy a cell phone and picked up the “seller” and drove him to a residence where the seller claimed to live, deputies said.

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Deputy Adam Warner was sent to the 8700 block of West Old Nashville Road at about 10:55 p.m. Monday after the man trying to purchase the cell phone was robbed at the residence, deputies said.

The victim said the individual pointed an unknown object at him from his jacket pocket and demanded the victim’s cell phone and wallet, and then fled the area, deputies said. Deputy Matt Bush and K9 Diesel attempted to track the individual but were unsuccessful.

For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.