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Bond set at 25K for robbery suspects
Suspects accused of taking video-game system at gunpoint
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Bond was set Friday in municipal court at $25,000 each for two 19-year-olds accused of taking a video-game system at gunpoint from a Pennsylvania man who made arrangements over the internet to meet someone in Youngstown to sell it.
Nathaniel Carter of Winona Drive and Bennie Poole of North Evanston Avenue were both arraigned before Judge Renee DiSalvo via video hookup from the Mahoning County jail on aggravated-robbery charges. The two are expected to have preliminary hearings Aug. 2.
Carter and Poole were both arrested about 12:40 p.m. Thursday by police on Wellington Avenue. Police were in the area looking for two men who recently had robbed someone at a parking lot at Steel and Silliman streets.
One of the suspects described to police was not wearing a shirt and his blue underwear was visible, reports said. He was spotted with the other suspect on Wellington Avenue, and police chased them on foot when they refused to stop. Both men were caught near the fence that separates Wellington Avenue from an Interstate 680 off ramp.
Police also found two .380-caliber semiautomatic handguns and ammunition in the backyard of a Wellington Avenue home that they say the suspects in the robbery used.
The victim told police he talked with a woman in Youngstown over an app that specializes in people wanting to sell things. The victim told police the woman offered to buy his PlayStation 4 for $350 and suggested they meet at a specific address in Youngstown.
The victim balked and said he would rather meet at an intersection. She suggested Steel and Silliman streets, the report said, and when the man was showing the woman the PlayStation, two men emerged with guns and took the PlayStation, his wallet and iPhone.
Reports said the victim came from Hooks-town, Pa., to sell his PlayStation. According to a Google search, Hookstown is about 54 miles from Youngstown, and the trip takes between 50 and 55 minutes, depending on the route.
Police have experienced several of these types of robberies over the past couple of years that have resulted in two homicides, and one case where officers posed as someone selling items to arrest a group of juveniles who had staged several of the same kind of robberies.
Police Chief Robin Lees and Chief of Detectives Capt. Brad Blackburn both said they wished the city had a designated safe area where people could exchange goods they’ve negotiated for over the internet. Both suggested that people meet in the side lot of the police department on West Boardman Street, where there is plenty of video surveillance and also police officers who are frequently going in and out of the police department.
A well-lit parking lot or plaza with video surveillance is also a good place to exchange items, Lees said.
Both said that people should use common sense when meeting strangers over the internet. If something sounds too good to be true, chances are it usually is, Lees said.