BALTIMORE – A sale on Facebook Marketplace went wrong when the user hoping to sell his two-door coupe saw the customer drive away with it.
Annapolis officers were alerted to the theft around 7 a.m. on Thursday.
They learned that the owner of a white 2011 Audi A5 2. 0T Quattro Premium Coupe had indexed his vehicle for sale on the popular online marketplace. They agreed to show it to a potential buyer, according to the Annapolis Police Department.
Police said the prospect arrived at the assembly point in the passenger seat of a black Mitsubishi gaming app vehicle.
This user got out of the van and sat in the driver’s seat of the coupe. The seller was going to take part in the test drive, but before he could sit in the passenger seat, the seller fled with his car, according to authorities.
The driver of the black Mitsubishi SUV followed the salesman’s car. Police said they were last seen leaving West Street after Route 2.
The two-door coupe did not have a license plate at the time of the theft, as the dealership expected to go through the entire sales process, according to authorities.
The theft marks at least the second time a Facebook Marketplace sale involving a vehicle has gone wrong in Maryland in the past three months.
Carlos Carrazana Ricardo, 18, died after he and a friend drove 80 miles to West Baltimore in November 2023 to buy a 2006 Acura TL they saw advertised on Facebook Marketplace.
He did not purchase the vehicle. As he and his friend were about to leave, gunshots rang out and one of the bullets hit Ricardo in the head, eventually killing him.
Marques Harris, who is promoting the vehicle, faces charges for allegedly shooting Ricardo in the 2700 block of Harlem Avenue.
Police discovered Harris at his home and also located a firearm. Harris told police he heard gunshots after the sale was canceled.
The year before, an officer with the Maryland National Capital Police County Division had shot and killed two other people after they stole the $440 he had taken to buy a Playstation 5.
The shooting happened in the 1100 block of Deanwood Road in Baltimore County. A grand jury declined to register a delinquency charge against an officer.
That same year, a person who was attempting to sell three pairs of tennis shoes through Facebook Marketplace was the victim of an armed robbery on that same block.
The Baltimore County Police Department has safe exchange zones for online transactions.