Authorities are once again urging caution after an 18-year-old arranged a face-to-face meeting with someone he met online and was robbed at gunpoint.
Athens-Clarke County police said the teen used an “online purchasing app” to buy or sell some kind of electronic device.
“At the present time, our detectives are investigating which specific app was used to initiate the transaction,” police spokesman Geof Gilland told AJC.com. “We are investigating whether the 18-year-old was the buyer or seller of an electronic device.”
The teen told police that multiple suspects took cash and a cellphone from him during the robbery, which occurred about 4 p.m. Friday at the Rolling Ridge Apartments in the 200 block of Rolling Ridge Drive. It’s not clear how much money was stolen.
The suspects barricaded themselves in one of the units, prompting police to bring in a special response team for assistance.
Two people surrendered, but a third person did not, according to Gilland.
“After repeatedly asking the remaining suspect to exit the apartment, and providing several warnings, SRT deployed chemical agents,” he said.
Deerickious Davenport, 23, exited the apartment and was taken into custody on an armed robbery charge as well as multiple probation violations, according to police.
The other two people were detained and later released. “Detectives are investigating to determine their roles in the incident,” Gilland said.
In recent weeks, at least two other people have been robbed at gunpoint in Athens after arranging to meet a stranger and buy a cellphone.
The separate robberies occurred Nov. 13 after the prospective buyers arranged the transactions on Facebook, Gilland said. As was the case in the latest incident, both robberies occurred during the day, when authorities encourage buyers and sellers to meet.
RELATED: 2 robbed at gunpoint in Athens after meeting stranger to buy phone
But they also urge people to meet in public locations such as the parking lot of a police station instead of private residences.
After the 2014 death of Daniel John Zeitz and the 2015 slayings of Marietta couple Bud and June Runion as well as Clark Atlanta University student James Earl Jones Jr., many metro Atlanta agencies started designating safe spaces to meet.
RELATED: Another metro Atlanta county offers safe zones for online purchases
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