A Facebook Marketplace jewelry sale in Shelby Township turned into an alleged robbery last week, and now a man is facing felony charges after police say he grabbed a victim's necklace and sped off in a vehicle. Dwight Darnell Fraizer Jr. was arraigned on felony robbery charges on Monday and held on a $100,000 bond.
According to ClickOnDetroit, the victim had arranged to sell jewelry through Facebook Marketplace when the suspect allegedly snatched the necklace and fled. Shelby Township police responded to the alleged robbery in the 8000 block of 23 Mile Road a week ago Thursday, the outlet reports.
Detectives Traced the Deal Through a Phone Number and Marketplace Messages
Shelby Township detectives analyzed the phone number and Marketplace messages tied to the transaction, the station's report states. Working with Special Investigations Unit detectives, they identified and located Fraizer in an area he was known to frequent.
When officers caught up with him, they recovered the stolen necklace and reportedly saw Fraizer still wearing it at the time of his arrest, per the same account. He now sits in the Macomb County Jail as he awaits his next court date, with a preliminary examination scheduled for Nov. 16.
A Pattern Emerging Nationwide
Shelby Township's case is far from an isolated incident. In a separate case, Portland police arrested 20-year-old Fallon Yvette Penney, accused of two counts of second-degree robbery after two separate Marketplace meetups turned violent hours apart on Oct. 15, according to oregonlive.com.
In one of those alleged Portland robberies, Penney posed as a buyer at the Gateway Shopping Center, while a roughly 6-foot-2 male accomplice snatched a phone out of a seller's hands, the outlet reports. In the second, prosecutors say Penney grabbed an iPhone 17 Pro and sped off, briefly dragging the victim behind the getaway SUV before the victim let go. Detectives there eventually matched a Marketplace profile named “Alexis Gray” back to Penney and made the arrest.
From Electronics to Jewelry, the Same Playbook
Similar schemes have surfaced elsewhere involving pricier electronics instead of jewelry. In one case detailed by Alaska's News Source, a 23-year-old man arranged to sell a PlayStation 5 for $500 and agreed to meet three buyers in a parking lot. After he handed the game console through a car door, a passenger in the backseat slammed the door shut and the driver sped off without paying, the outlet reported.
Deputies in that case recovered the stolen PlayStation from the vehicle and said they also seized marijuana and a firearm during the stop. Three Augusta residents ultimately faced robbery charges in connection with that incident, per the same report. Safety tips advised buyers and sellers to meet at a law-enforcement “exchange zone,” such as a police station lobby or a camera-monitored parking lot, rather than a private residence or isolated spot.
Back in Macomb County, Fraizer remains held pending his Nov. 16 preliminary examination, and no further details about the case have been released.
