A man attempting to sell a gaming system through a popular site in suburban Chicago Thursday night was fatally shot during a robbery, police said.
According to University Park police, a couple had travelled to the 800 block of White Oak Lane, at the Russet Oaks Townhomes, just before 11 p.m. to sell a video gaming system to a potential buyer they had made contact with on letgo.com.
Those buyers, three males, one of them possibly a juvenile, then tried to rob the couple, ultimately shooting 31-year-old Kankakee resident Kevin C. Jarrod, police said.
The woman with Jarrod in the vehicle fled the scene with him in the car and stopped near Burnham Drive and White Oak Lane to call for help. Jarrod was later pronounced dead, according to authorities.
Witnesses said the attackers scattered after the shooting and were wearing all black. One of them was described as having a short afro, police said.
University Park Police Chief John Pate said the location where the couple was set to meet the potential buyers was in fact an abandoned home.
“When making these transactions, try to make these transactions in a safe location such as a public place, a police station, somewhere there is sufficient lighting and somewhere you feel safe and comfortable at,” Plate said.
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Letgo.com said it is working with law enforcement to assist in the investigation.
"This is an unimaginable tragedy," a letgo spokesperson said. "Letgo's highest priority will always be the trust and safety of our users. That's why we've built things like in-app chat; user profiles, ratings and reviews; and account verification into the app. We also proactively share tips with users about how to buy and sell securely. Most importantly, we always encourage users to choose a public meeting place like a coffee shop, supermarket, bank lobby or shopping mall."
Some of the safety tips included on letgo's website are:
• Meet in person and use cash to complete a transaction, and choose a public place to exchange payment and items, like a coffee shop, supermarket, mall, or your local police station’s parking lot. Be wary of users who are unable or refuse to meet face-to-face to complete a transaction, those who insist on dealing with something other than cash and those who ask you to mail payment for an item. Don’t send payment to someone you haven’t met in person and don’t buy something without seeing it first.
• For larger items like furniture, you may sometimes need to meet a buyer/seller at home. We strongly recommend having someone else with you in these cases.
• Don’t use personal, certified or cashier’s checks, and never wire money (e.g., Western Union) to another user. If you decide to use PayPal, make sure to protect yourself against fraud by being aware of the most common PayPal scams.
• Beware of users who make unusual requests/suggestions, e.g., if a buyer insists on sending a check for more than the asking price (this is part of a common scam on many sites).
• There are millions of great deals on letgo, but be wary of items with unrealistically low prices, spammy descriptions, catalog photos, or other photos that obviously haven’t been taken by the user. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• If you’re unsure about someone’s identity and want to verify that they are who they say they are and are really located in your area, it may be helpful to give them a short phone call before arranging to meet or to look them up online.
No one was in custody as of Friday morning.
