Crime & Safety

Teen Selling Cell Phone Tricked, Beaten by Gang

A teenager trying to sell a cell phone on Facebook was lured to an empty Lilburn residence, robbed and beaten.

A teenager hoping to sell his cell phone was lured to an empty Lilburn residence recently by the would-be buyer, only to be beaten with a bat and robbed, according to a Gwinnett County Police report.

The 17-year-old told police he had advertised his cell phone on his Facebook page. A former high school acquaintance expressed interest, the victim said; the buyer told him to drive to an address at Brookwood Landing. The victim's cousin drove him to the house, parking several hundred yards away, as the buyer had instructed.

When the victim walked into the house, he was struck by a bat several times on his head and back, he told police, and as he fell, someone with a gun told him "Don't move or I'll blow your (expletive) brains out." Before the attack, he saw three males, two with ski masks over their faces. The third man looked to be Indian, according to the report.

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The suspects checked his pockets and found the cell phone and a lighter. They told the victim to remain in place for 10 minutes after they were gone, threatening to kill him otherwise.

The victim's cousin said he didn't see the suspects and didn't see a vehicle near the house.

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Police found a black scarf on the kitchen table in the house, and the rear window and door had been left opened.

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