Man pretends to be undercover cop to scare off would-be robbers in Ypsilanti park
Ypsilanti police say a 26-year-old man pretended to be an undercover cop to scare off two men who attempted to rob him at gunpoint at a park on East Cross Street Saturday evening.
The man told police he went to the park at 7:15 p.m. to sell a video game system he had listed for sale.
The man said he was approached by two men, one showed him a gun in his waistband, and they demanded his property, a police news release said.
The victim told police he quickly decided to pretend he was an undercover police officer, which scared them away, the release said. The victim left and called police once he reached a safe place, reports said.
Officers checked the park and were unable to locate the men.
Ypsilanti Sgt. Kevin Dorsey said he did not have information on whether the robbers lured the man to the park to rob him or whether there was a legitimate buyer, and the gunman happened to be there at the same time.
The would-be robbers were both described as black and in their mid-20s. One was about 6 feet 1 inches tall, with a medium build, short braided black hair, and wearing a black T-shirt with a red T-shirt under it, and black gym shorts. The other was 6 feet 3 inches tall, heavy build, wearing a black T-shirt, black baseball cap with an Old English "D" on it and blue jeans.
Anyone with information is asked to call Ypsilanti police at 734-483-9510.
Comments
J. Sorensen
Wed, Jul 28, 2010 : 3:38 a.m.
Ricebrnr...... wow, my thoughts exactly! That's just not right!
Ricebrnr
Tue, Jul 27, 2010 : 6:07 a.m.
Oh my! That's not typos I'm reading are they...
Kimberly
Tue, Jul 27, 2010 : 12:10 a.m.
i know him two and i thank That the police need to step up on crimes becuse this shouldnt be happing in daylight itz messed up how people only thank of there selfs becuse there was a five year old girl in the car with them and if they would of hurt my cuzz i would of bein flippin if they thank there naver going to get Cought that may be true but god pray that They dont have the same thang happen to the becuse karma come's around and trust me Itz naver Going to stop comeing around and for You people in ann arbor just make shurr You keep all ears and eyes out well you are out and about becuse you naver know if This type of thang will happen to you and i pray that we all have better manners when it comes to some one ease life People need to thank Im talkin bout the robber Thank for ones what if it was the othere way around let god be with you
jns131
Mon, Jul 26, 2010 : 3:37 p.m.
I know the person and he is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. Too bad something bad had to happen to him. Now I need to call him about that game system.
Commoncents
Sun, Jul 25, 2010 : 11:42 p.m.
If I was unarmed I would have just given up the game system and anything they wanted. Then again, I'd never meet up on a side street of Ypsi on a Saturday night to try and make a few bucks. If I was carrying.... these 2 guys would be no longer. Hard for me to understand why more people don't... especially people wheeling and dealing over craigslist.... that website is suspect as hell
obviouscomment
Sun, Jul 25, 2010 : 3:15 p.m.
I sell a lot of things online and I always meet at a public place. My favorite is Starbucks at Arborland. Also, I never go alone and I always insist on a time in broad daylight.
bunnyabbot
Sun, Jul 25, 2010 : 1:57 p.m.
I also use craigslist often and have not had a problem when it came time to meet for the transaction. However there are plenty of weird emails about my listing (mostly scams) and others that I have gotten to the phone call part and gotten creeped out and not sold it to that person. As a single female if I get a weird guy interested in an item I always mention my "husband" needs to ok it
Cash
Sun, Jul 25, 2010 : 1:29 p.m.
There's a more complete report of this story at ClickonDetroit.com.
Ricebrnr
Sun, Jul 25, 2010 : 12:48 p.m.
Nah, Briarwood prohibits weapons on the premises. The criminals wouldn't have been able to pull a gun there because of it.
Arbuckle
Sun, Jul 25, 2010 : 11:32 a.m.
Very gutsy indeed, and although it worked in this situation the decision could have easily backfired. Unfortunately, incidents like this give Craigslist sales a bad name. Now, maybe these guys would have shown the gun at 2:00 in the afternoon at Briarwood Mall too...who knows. But I think that would have been much less likely. I've made several transactions using CL and all have gone down without a hitch but I've never met anyone in an isolated area or in the evening hours. Be careful!
M.
Sun, Jul 25, 2010 : 10:24 a.m.
Wow, what a gutsy split second decision. I'm glad it turned out to be the right one. A lot of us have learned first hand that Craigslist and similar sites are not immune from weirdos and criminals. If you're meeting someone to sell an item, I strongly advise you meet in a public area with a decent number of people around, just like meeting anyone else from the internet.