Man used online marketplace to lure parents and kids to an Indiana apartment, feds say
.png "A man was sentenced to prison after officials say he lured people to an apartment through an online marketplace.")
An Indiana man was sentenced to prison after authorities say he used online marketplaces to lure victims to an apartment complex, resulting in the death of a man.
Demetris Campbell, 29, of Indianapolis was convicted of commercial robbery conspiracy, four counts of aiding commercial robbery and three counts of aiding the brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to a Dec. 2 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
Campbell was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
McClatchy News reached out to Campbell’s attorney for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Between July 19 and July 28, 2020, Campbell worked with others to rob people that he lured to an apartment by pretending to sell items on online platforms, officials said.
Campbell used an account on the online platform Offer Up to pretend to sell an iPhone, officials said. On July 19, 2020, a 15-year-old boy and his dad agreed to meet with Campbell to buy the phone.
Campbell “lured” the father and son to an Indianapolis apartment, officials said. When the two arrived, three people, including Campbell, went up to their car and showed them an iPhone. Then, they showed a gun, hit the teen in the face with it and demanded their money, according to prosecutors.
Campbell and the others took the father and son’s money and some Air Jordan tennis shoes the teen was wearing, officials said.
The next day, Campbell lured a mother and her two young children to the same apartment complex using the same Offer Up account, prosecutors said. When the mother and kids arrived, another man, Angel Montano, reached into her car and “placed the muzzle of a pistol against her body” with her two kids still in the car, officials said.
Montano then stole her iPhone and money, according to the release.
On July 22, 2020, Campbell used a different account on LetGo and pretended to sell an iPhone to a woman. He told the woman to come to the same apartment complex and when she arrived, Montano showed her a gun and said, “I’ll shoot you. Give me the cash,” according to prosecutors.
The woman gave him $560 and a Samsung cellphone, officials said.
Six days later, on July 28, Campbell arranged to meet up with a man who agreed to buy two iPhones for $1,400, officials said. The man brought his brother with him, but when the brothers got to the meeting location, they “felt uneasy” and tried to leave, according to prosecutors.
However, Montano blocked them with his car, went up to their vehicle and began shooting at it, officials said.
The buyer’s brother was shot and killed, and the buyer was seriously hurt, officials said.
McClatchy News reached out to Montano’s attorney for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Campbell was present during the shooting and watched it happen, officials said.
The next day, Campbell was arrested after officials traced the fake accounts to him, the release said. Officials said he and Montano would sell stolen phones for cash and split the profits.
“The man who was taken from his family by these vicious criminals should still be here today. His brother should never have been shot, and the other victims — including multiple children — should never have suffered the traumas inflicted on them by these men,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.
In February 2023, Montano pleaded guilty to two counts of commercial robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
This story was originally published December 3, 2024 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Man used online marketplace to lure parents and kids to an Indiana apartment, feds say."
