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The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office arrested four suspects this Wednesday -three adults and one minor- linked to a series of at least 11 thefts and six grand thefts against sellers on online sales platforms, mainly Facebook Marketplace.
The crimes occurred between October 2025 and May 2026 in the Intracoastal district of the county, near Northwest 6 Avenue and NW 152 Street, according to Telemundo 51.
The four were captured in an undercover operation in which authorities simulated the purchase of a phone through the same platform.
The modus operandi: Posing as buyers
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the suspects were targeting individuals who "were selling cell phones and laptops, arranging meetings under the pretense of purchasing the items before seizing the property and fleeing."
This pattern repeated itself more than a dozen times over the course of seven months.
In Hialeah, an individual had already kidnapped a couple during a transaction from Facebook Marketplace, highlighting the danger of these meetings with strangers.
The four detainees and the charges they face
Terrell Barry, 20 years old, faces the most serious charges: armed robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon.
In April, Barry took a phone from a seller he met on Facebook Marketplace, lifted his shirt to show a gun at his waist, and "threatened to kill him" if he followed him, according to the arrest report.
Adrion Hall, 22 years old, faces charges for third-degree grand theft after taking an iPhone 16 valued at 800 dollars last January.
The detectives determined that Hall's "phone number" was used to create Facebook profiles linked to the robberies.
Hall denied his involvement and stated that the other suspects used his phone to manage the accounts.
Nikell Etienne, 23 years old, faces charges of robbery with physical force, breaking and entering with assault or violence, and attempted robbery for an incident that occurred in October 2025.
When the victim and her son were negotiating the payment for some items, the suspects "became enraged... and proceeded to demand the property," according to the arrest report.
A victim managed to photograph Etienne and send the image to his wife before his phone was taken away. Etienne had already been arrested by the Hialeah police in December 2025 in an unrelated case.
The fourth detainee is a 17-year-old minor accused of posing as a buyer last February and "forcibly snatching" the phone from a victim's hand before fleeing on foot.
A rising crime trend in Florida
The thefts targeting sellers on online sales platforms are a growing trend in the state.
In Palm Beach County, two teenagers were arrested in April for at least four similar robberies targeting vendors contacted through the same method.
In Miami-Dade, five individuals were arrested in Hialeah for cell phone thefts in a previous operation, and more recently a man in Miami was charged with multiple armed robberies under similar circumstances.
Nationwide, more than 62% of Facebook Marketplace users report having encountered fraudulent activity, and financial scams on that platform increased by 340% in the second quarter of 2025.
After the arrests, the Sheriff’s Office urged the public to use designated safe exchange zones at police facilities, monitored by video 24/7, instead of arranging meetings at homes or isolated locations.
Those who have information about this case can contact Crimestoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
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