Daytona Beach, FL - Update: Police have released a photo of the suspect wanted for snatching an iPhone out of a man's hand after selling it to him through LetGo.com.
(Photo courtesy of Daytona Beach Police)
If you recognize the shirtless man in the photo, you are asked to contact Detective Dave Dinardi at 386-671-5219 or via email at dinardid@dbpd.us. The suspect is known to go by the name "Jeff Roberts." Earlier Reporting: According to the Daytona Beach Police Department (DBPD), a man was robbed after he tried to buy an iPhone through LetGo.com. Around 9:30 PM on Saturday, August 12, police arrived at the 7-Eleven located at 1400 Mason Ave. in response to a robbery. The victim, Robert Gentil, was not at the scene of the robbery when police arrived because he drove to the police department to report the crime. A witness at the scene was able to tell police that he saw Gentil talking to the robbery suspect. He told police that the suspect suddenly grabbed something out of Gentil's hand and ran eastbound towards Clyde Morris Blvd. The witness said Gentil followed the suspect, who appeared to be a teenage black male, in his vehicle. Gentil then arrived back at the scene and told police that he was shopping on LetGo.com for a black iPhone 7 plus and had contacted a man called Jeff Roberts who said he would sell it. Roberts wanted to meet in the park, but Gentil said he wanted to meet at the 7-Eleven. Gentil said that when Roberts arrived, they talked about the cost of the phone. Before he paid, Gentil wanted to see if the phone worked. He gave Roberts $400 for the phone and began to put in his SIM card when Roberts asked to see the phone again so he could delete his iTunes account. Gentil agreed to let Roberts delete his account only if he could hold the phone. Roberts then snatched the phone from Gentil and began running from the parking lot. Gentil confirmed that he drove after the suspect but added that he lost the suspect after he ran into the woods. Gentil described Roberts as a black male between the ages of 16 and 21 and that he was approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall. He said the suspect had short hair, no shirt, tan shorts, and black flip-flops. On LetGo.com the suspect was listed as Jeff Roberts but upon meeting him, Gentil said that he referred to himself as John. Video surveillance from the 7-Eleven shows the suspect walking into the store with another black male that looked to be a juvenile. Gentil and his girlfriend said that they would be able to identify the suspect if they saw him and advised that the phone could be tracked since it had Gentil's SIM card. Daytona Beach police warned on social media that if you plan to buy or sell anything online, that you should do it in the DBPD parking lots located at 129 Valor Blvd. or 510 Harvey Ave. in Daytona Beach. Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.
