News Releases

For Immediate Release: Monday, December 7, 2020

Officers from the 4th District have arrested and charged Croix Jackson, age 19, of Washington, D.C., with the armed robbery of an adult seller who he made arrangements to meet and purchase a PlayStation 5 (PS5) from via an online marketplace.

On December 2 at approximately 4:38 p.m., officers responded to the report of an armed robbery that had just occurred in a public parking lot in the area of Georgia Avenue and Arcola Avenue in Wheaton.

Officers met with the victim and learned that he had posted a PS5 for sale on the online marketplace "OfferUp." Jackson, using a fake name, contacted the victim and made arrangements to meet on December 1 to purchase the video game console.

On December 1, the victim and Jackson met in the public parking lot in Wheaton. Jackson stated that he did not have the cash to purchase the PS5 but would have it the next day. They agreed to meet the next day in the same parking lot.

On December 2, during the agreed upon meeting time, Jackson approached the victim's vehicle in the parking lot and took a handgun from his jacket. Jackson pointed the handgun at the victim and ordered the victim to give him the PS5. Jackson took the PS5 from the victim and ran away.

The victim was able to provide officers with a description of Jackson and a witness stated that she saw Jackson taking the PS5 out of its box and putting it in a black duffle bag in a backyard of a nearby residence.

At approximately 4:50 pm, an officer observed a suspect matching the description of the suspect (Jackson) walking in a residential yard on Arcola Avenue. When Jackson saw the officer, he began to run. Officers pursued Jackson and arrested him on Little Sorrel Way.

Jackson was transported to the Central Processing Unit and was charged with armed robbery.

During a search to locate the handgun Jackson used in the robbery, officers located it in a yard in the 2300 block of Arcola Avenue. Jackson had discarded it as he was running from officers. Additional handgun charges are pending in this case.

Selling and Purchasing Items:

The Montgomery County Police Department has designated safe Exchange Zones for residents to complete online transactions. These Exchange Zones are located at each of the six police district station’s lobbies and parking lots (with the exception of the Second District parking lot). Find more information about Exchange Zones, here.

When selling or purchasing items from an unknown person, the Montgomery County Police Department offers the following safety tips:

Always meet the buyer or seller at an exchange zone that is well populated, well lit, and preferably at a designated police exchange zone.
Tell a friend or family member where you’re going to meet someone and when possible, take a friend with you.
Inform the buyer/seller that you will not be alone.
Do not invite strangers into your home.
Never give out any personal or financial information.
When dealing with large sums of cash, don’t be afraid to tell the buyer that you will want to check the bills for authenticity.
It is OK to show a buyer that you have an item, but do not surrender it until you have checked the validity of the currency.
Look for the denomination specific security features. Each bill has a specific watermark and security thread.
Sometimes an advertised sale is a scam…trust your instincts – if it sounds like a scam or too good to be true, it probably is.