A Florida buyer who had already completed one iPhone deal through Facebook Marketplace returned for another purchase. This time, Doral police describe a gun pointed at him, a struggle inside a car and an escape that did not end the threats.
The first transaction took place Sept. 28, according to WSVN’s reporting on the arrest report. On Oct. 9, the seller contacted the buyer again, offering additional iPhones, and arranged another meeting outside the buyer’s apartment building.
The buyer approached a white BMW occupied by two men. In a television interview, Doral Police Chief Matthew Castillo described a rear-seat passenger pointing a firearm at the buyer and ordering him into the car.
Lazaro Nunez-Martinez, identified in the broadcast as the driver, was arrested Sunday, Oct. 11. Local 10’s updated report says officers arrested the second suspect during a traffic stop Monday in Hallandale Beach, after the broadcast’s appeal for help finding him.
Inside the Car
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Castillo described the buyer trying to get out while the men held him inside.
“He tried to escape the vehicle twice and was pulled back with his satchel and actually was strangled,” the chief said in the interview.
The buyer began pleading for his life and looking for a way to survive, Castillo explained. He threw cash out the window and escaped by jumping out of the moving car.
WSVN’s account adds that approximately $4,000 landed in nearby bushes. The armed passenger got out to retrieve it while the buyer struggled with a satchel strap caught around his neck. He broke the strap, ran toward a nearby business and hid in bushes because he feared the men would follow him.
Nunez-Martinez faces charges that include kidnapping, armed robbery, grand theft and tampering with a witness or victim. He was taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, and a judge ordered him held without bond.
After Getting Away
Castillo described a threatening text message sent after the escape: the men knew where the buyer lived and would find and hurt him if he went to police. The reporter said the buyer did not want to speak about the encounter because he feared for his life.
“That’s why we encourage residents to never disclose your address,” Castillo said. The broadcast also advised people arranging Marketplace exchanges to meet at police stations rather than outside their homes.
All parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.