Pair Charged With Robbing iPhone Resellers
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (STMW) -- Two men who police say were involved in a string of armed robberies of people looking to buy used iPhones to refurbish and resell were arrested Tuesday night in an undercover operation.
The victims in all three robberies have businesses that refurbish used cell phones for resale and had placed ads on Craigslist to purchase used iPhones, a statement from Schaumburg police said.
In each case, the victims were contacted by a "seller" who arranged to meet them in various parking lots. The suspect would arrive and meet the victim, discuss the purchase, and then display a handgun and rob the victim of money, police said.
The three robberies occurred on June 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the 100 block of Idle Wild Court; on July 5 at 8:20 p.m. in the 1000 block North Salem Drive; and July 17 at 8 p.m. in the 2300 block of West Bode Road, police said.
Schaumburg police said a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent working undercover posed as a cellphone buyer, then took the place of an actual buyer who had been contacted by the suspects.
Police say Brandon Timberlake, 26, was taken into custody after showing up at the meeting site. Timberlake had a "realistic-looking handgun" that turned out to be a BB-gun, police said. Jay V. Dixon, 25, was located nearby in a vehicle and taken into custody without incident, police said.
Timberlake, of the 2300 block of West Nichols Drive in Arlington Heights; and Dixon, of the 8700 block of North Central Park in Skokie, were charged with one count each of felony aggravated robbery.
Both were scheduled to appear for a bond hearing in Rolling Meadows on Thursday morning.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
