Woman seeing Youngstown home for first time gets robbed

YOUNGSTOWN — A Philadelphia, Pa. woman who bought a house on Edwards Street through eBay, an online auction site, was robbed when she visited the house for the first time Thursday evening, reports show.

The 50-year-old woman told police that she was in the basement when she heard someone walking around the first floor. The man asked if the place was for rent, she said it was and started to show him around. After saying he had to use the bathroom, the man returned with a gun, put it to her head and demanded her keys and purse. The key ring broke when he snatched it from her hand, which sent the keys flying. She managed to hang onto and conceal the keys to her rental car.

While he went outside to break into the car, a second suspect showed up and told her to “just cooperate” then left, reports show. After not seeing them for several minutes, the woman ran to her car, which had its passenger window broken out, and started driving around looking for a police officer. She flagged down Patrolman Edward Kenney on Southern Boulevard around 6:15 p.m. and told him what happened. The woman’s purse, with credit cards inside, and cell phone were taken during the robbery. She followed Kenney to the police station and made arrangements to get back home. She also canceled her credit cards.