Authorities are searching for a man after responding to reports of a meetup transaction gone wrong, which resulted in a Valencia robbery late Wednesday afternoon.
The incident took place around 5:45 p.m. at a Starbucks on the 28100 block of Newhall Ranch Road by Copper Hill Drive, according to Lt. James Royal with the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s station.
“It was a Craigslist meetup at a Starbucks regarding an iPhone 10,” he said. “The buyer grabbed the phone out of the victim’s hand and ran out the door after a short struggle. No one was hurt.”
The suspect is believed to have turned off the phone to avoid any location tracking and was still outstanding as of 6:30 p.m., according to Royal.
Law enforcement reminds the public of Santa Clarita’s Safety Exchange Zone, which provides residents with a safe environment who buy, sell or trade items to complete transactions.
The Safe Exchange Zone are located in the parking lot of the sheriff’s station on Magic Mountain Parkway, opposite the station’s entrance. It is an area painted green and monitored around the clock 24/7 by video camera surveillance.
