Cell phone sale turns into robbery in San Gabriel

SAN GABRIEL — A man who planned on buying some cell phones from another man earlier this week got more than he bargained for when the seller pulled a gun, authorities said.
A man who owns a cell phone repair business was solicited via his phone earlier this week by man who offered to sell him four BlackBerry cell phones for $1,200, San Gabriel police Lt. Antonio Hernandez said. The victim did not previously know the seller, or how the seller obtained his phone number.
The men met up about 8:20 p.m. Thursday in a parking lot in the 200 block of West Valley Boulevard to perform the transaction, the lieutenant said.
After selling the victim the cell phones, the robber pulled a silver handgun and robbed the buyer of his laptop computer, wallet and about $4,000 in cash, police said. The BlackBerry cell phones were not taken back from the victim.
As the sale turned into a robbery, a second man joined the first robber, Hernandez said, and both men were last seen fleeing the area in a newer-model, silver, 4-door Chevrolet sedan.
The gunman was described as black man in his mid-20s, about 5-feet 5-inches tall, 155 pounds, with dark hair and dark eyes. The second robber was described only as a black man in his mid-20s with curly hair.
Anyone with information is asked to call San Gabriel police at 626-308-2828.
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