A Sherman Oaks man trying to sell his Apple computer through an online ad instead found himself staring down the barrel of a gun Tuesday night, after the two men who showed up to buy it pulled a weapon and fled with the machine. The robbery happened around 9 pm on the 15000 block of Magnolia Boulevard, leaving the seller with an estimated $1,200 in losses and no computer to show for it.
According to NBC Los Angeles, the man had placed an online ad to sell his computer and arranged to meet the buyers on the Magnolia Boulevard block. When the two men arrived, one of them demanded the computer and then pulled a gun, prompting the seller to hand it over before the pair fled on foot. LAPD officers responded to the scene and took a robbery report, but as of the outlet's report, no arrests had been made.
The case remains under investigation, and it's unclear whether detectives have recovered surveillance footage from along Magnolia Boulevard or identified which online marketplace the suspects used to arrange the meetup — details that haven't yet been made public.
A Recurring Risk for Online Sellers
The robbery lands squarely within a pattern police have flagged for years. LAPD's Devonshire Division issued a public safety advisory in January 2025 warning San Fernando Valley residents about a surge in e-commerce-related robberies, according to LAPD, and it specifically recommended that sellers meet buyers during daylight hours and bring a companion. LAPD has for years urged the public to conduct online deals in public, well-lit places and remain aware of their surroundings.
To address the danger, the LAPD launched designated E-Commerce Exchange Zones back in June 2017, encouraging buyers and sellers to complete transactions inside or just outside monitored police station lobbies. Those camera-covered zones were set up in partnership with platforms like OfferUp specifically to cut down on robberies tied to online marketplace meetups.
The robbery falls under the jurisdiction of the LAPD's Van Nuys Community Police Station, which covers Sherman Oaks, Valley Glen, and Van Nuys across 30 square miles and operates around the clock. Notably, LAPD COMPSTAT statistics for the Van Nuys Area through early May showed 63 robberies year-to-date, a 10% drop from the 70 recorded over the same period in 2025 — even as high-profile incidents have kept Sherman Oaks residents on edge.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Sherman Oaks
This is far from the first violent robbery to rattle the neighborhood this year. In March, an armed smash-and-grab at the Macy's inside Westfield Fashion Square forced a brief shelter-in-place order at the mall. That same month, federal prosecutors secured a 10-year prison sentence for a suspect tied to a string of armed follow-home robberies that targeted victims in Sherman Oaks and other Los Angeles neighborhoods, the same outlet reported.
Weeks earlier, in February, LAPD officers arrested a 28-year-old suspect in Van Nuys following a two-month armed robbery spree that hit victims across Sherman Oaks, Studio City, and Valley Village, according to the report. City leaders have already responded to the broader trend: in April, Mayor Karen Bass ordered a high-visibility LAPD patrol surge across the San Fernando Valley, deploying specialized units, mobile license plate readers, and air support to the Ventura Boulevard corridor, per FOX 11.
What the Suspects Could Face
Under California Penal Code Section 211, robbery is defined as taking property from another person through force or fear, and second-degree robbery committed in a public or street setting carries a state prison term of two, three, or five years, according to the Shouse Law Group. It's classified as a violent felony and a strike under state law.
If the armed suspect in this case is caught, he would also face a mandatory consecutive 10-year enhancement under Penal Code Section 12022.53(b) for personally using a firearm during the robbery, regardless of whether the gun was loaded or fired, per the Law Offices of David M. Wallin. No suspects had been identified or arrested as of the latest report, and the investigation continues.
