VALRICO, Fla.— Hillsborough County deputies say a woman tried to sell her iPhone, but instead the suspect robbed her.
"I was very stunned. I was surprised. Even a couple nights after that, I've had nightmares about getting robbed," said Kelly Crockett, victim.
The victim, 22-year-old Kelly Crockett, met the man on an app called "OfferUp."
The two agreed to meet up and he agreed to buy her iPhone for $650. Crockett said she was looking for some extra cash around the holiday and wanted to sell her old phone.
They arranged to meet in the pool area of the Brentwood Hills community in Valrico around 5 p.m.
They chatted for awhile. She erased the phone's contents and then the suspect grabbed the phone from her hands.
"He took it out of my hand and he ran the other way," said Crockett.
Deputies released surveillance video of the suspect in the area. They are looking to identify the man seen in the video wearing a white T-shirt and basketball shorts.
As he ran away, deputies say he lost his Adidas sneakers (size 7.5). They were left at the scene and recovered.
Crockett urges others to be cautious while meeting people. She says she will bring a friend along next time.
"I kind of learned my lesson there, but now if I ever do sell anything from OfferUp, it's going to be at the police station," said Crockett.
Deputies urge people to only do online transactions in one of its five patrol district parking lots.
These locations include the following:
District 1: 14102 North 20th Street Tampa, Florida
District 2: 2310 North Falkenburg Road Tampa, Florida
District 3: 7202 Gunn Highway Tampa, Florida
District 4: 508 33rd Street SE Ruskin, Florida
District 5: 10128 Windhorst Road Tampa, Florida
