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Local woman says she was robbed, run over by 'buyer' during iPhone sale

Posted at 9:29 PM, Jan 29, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-29 21:32:08-05

LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) — A local woman used the LetGo app to sell her iPhone, but a meeting with the so-called “buyer” ended in disaster.

She asked 7 Action News not to identify her.

“I was really fearing for my life," the woman said. "I thought he was gonna run my whole body over.”

The 24 year-old says it happened back on Dec. 23. She met the man in the Target parking lot in Livonia around 10:30 a.m.

She says as he was behind the wheel of his car, there were two other guys with him. The victim says she was trying to show him the phone from a distance because he wanted to know if it was unlocked, but then he snatched it. She says she was still holding on to the phone and was dragged for a few hundred feet.

“He’s driving off... and my arm (is) stuck in the window,” she said.

The man ran over her leg and arm, but the woman managed to call 911. Livonia police say good detective work recently led them to 19-year-old William Stinson. He’s now facing felony charges.

Police say if you’re making a similar sale, be sure to meet at a police department.

“If someone doesn't want to meet you at the police department, that's a red flag,” says Capt. Ron Taig of Livonia police.

Meanwhile, the 24 year-old victim says she's thankful she didn’t suffer any broken bones, but knows things could have been much worse.

“This is just a life lesson really," she said. "Because it could have been worse than getting my leg and arm run over. It could have been my head or I could have lost my life."

From now on she says she’ll be making similar sales at the police department.

As for Stinson, police believe he was involved in a similar robbery in Westland. They’re still searching for the two guys who were with him in the Livonia case.