Two men charged after Kijiji cellphone sellers assaulted

Ottawa police have charged two men after two robberies they say both began with meetings arranged through the online classified website Kijiji.

• Wayward son: how did a promising young man end up murdering Tim Bosma?

In each incident two suspects arranged to meet another man to purchase a cellphone that had been posted for sale on Kijiji, and pulled up in what police describe as a white Audi A4 with a Quebec licence plate.

In the first incident, a man agreed to meet a prospective buyer of his cellphone at about 8:40 p.m. Monday on Gallantry Way, just south of the Canadian Tire Centre off Huntmar Road.

Two men drove up in their car and met the seller at the curb.When the seller showed the phone to the passenger for viewing, the driver drove off, and the seller was dragged by the car a short distance before falling to the curb.

The man suffered minor injuries and was treated in hospital, and has since been released.

2nd victim attacked with knife

Later that night at 9:30 p.m. another man selling his cellphone met two men in a parking lot along Crestway Drive near Standherd Drive.

The two men pulled up in their vehicle and the passenger got out to inspect the phone.

While looking at the phone, the passenger attacked the man with a knife.He thengot back in the car and the two suspects fled the scene.

The victim in this incident didn't require medical attention. He was able to obtain a description of the car and reported it to police.

2 suspects charged

Police said a short time later they located a vehicle matching the description on Longfields Driveand took two men, a 21-year-old Ottawa man and a 21-year-old Gatineau man, into custody.

Both are charged with two counts each of robbery, two counts each of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and possession of a weapon in commission of an offence.

The Gatineau man was also charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.

Investigators are concerned there may be additional victims, police said.

Use caution when meeting through social media

Police caution people who use social media to arrange meetings or transactions to meet in-person to inspect the product and exchange money, and to meet in a public place with many people around, ideally in a place with video surveillance.

They say people should consider going with another person, and leaving the item or cash in a vehicle while assessing the credibility of the other person.

Sellers should also speak with buyers over the phone and choose the location. If something seems suspicious, police say people should be prepared to walk away.