DOYLESTOWN, Ohio — Short on cash and between jobs, 29-year-old Matthew Ferguson of Orrville decided to sell his iPad in August. He listed it on Facebook Marketplace for $750 and got several messages but settled on one potential interested buyer.
"He seemed sincere about buying it," Ferguson said.
Ferguson agreed to a meet-up at a Doylestown gas station where two young men— or teens— showed up.
What happened next was caught on the gas station's surveillance camera.
One of the suspects claimed he sent Ferguson money through a cash app, but it was a distraction as part of the plan to steal the iPad. The device was snatched shortly after Ferguson placed it on top of his car.
"I wanted to figure it out because I needed the money, and when I turned around and had it up there, he just snatched it and took off," Ferguson said.
Both of the suspects took off running. Ferguson didn't chase after them because he didn't want to escalate the situation. He assumed he would never see his iPad again.
However, the theft bothered Doylestown police officers Jessica Ryan and Jeffrey Odenkirk. They were determined to not give up on the case.
"We try to approach each case to where how would the victim feel? If I had an iPad stolen, I wouldn't want the department to be —OK —we're going to take a report, and that's it," Odenkirk said.
The officers determined the thief used Marketplace through a fake Facebook account to find the victim.
Ryan felt it was just a matter of time before Ferguson's iPad appeared on the bogus page.
"We were checking Facebook Marketplace almost daily just to see what he was listed, what he was posting, what he was trying to sell," Ryan said.
Sure enough, the iPad was listed. Doylestown police then enlisted the help of several departments to set up a buy-bust operation. Officers set up their own fake Facebook account and arranged a meeting with the suspect at a gas station in Norton.
"We worked with Medway and the State Patrol and Norton on setting up this buy-bust," Odenkirk said.
Police video captured the sting going down on Wednesday. Shortly after a 17-year-old boy showed up with the iPad, officers swarmed and arrested him.
He was charged with theft, telecommunications harassment and robbery. The 18-year-old man who was with the suspect was interviewed and released.
Police are still working to identify the second suspect who ran away after the theft in August.
The investigation is ongoing, and police are trying to figure out if there are more victims. Odenkirk issued a search warrant with Facebook to figure out if others had signed into the fake account.
In addition, Doylestown police sent a notice to other police departments in Northeast Ohio to see if similar crimes have been committed.
"This may be a larger kind of ring of thefts than just the guy we have," Odenkirk said.
In light of the case, officers are stressing important safety reminders for those who meet up with strangers to buy or sell items, including not to go alone, meet in well-lit public areas and use safety exchange zones available at many local police departments.
