2 arrested after Facebook Marketplace car sale turns into carjacking, deputies say

Facebook Marketplace sale turns into carjacking, deputies say

Two men are accused of carjacking a seller at gunpoint during a test drive arranged through Facebook Marketplace, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Osceola County sheriff’s deputies arrested two suspects following an armed carjacking reported on Tuesday.

Deputies said the victim was attempting to sell his BMW through Facebook Marketplace when the suspects took the vehicle for a test drive, then pulled out a gun and forced him out of the car. 

The backstory:

The 21-year-old victim told deputies he was carjacked about 4 p.m. on Dec. 16 after meeting two men who responded to his Facebook Marketplace listing to sell his gray BMW 5 Series. The meeting took place near Cobblestone Circle and Cobblers Lane, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.

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Investigators said the victim and the two suspects took the vehicle for a test drive. When the drive ended, one suspect allegedly pulled out a gun and ordered the victim out of the car. One suspect drove away in the BMW, while the other left the area in a Honda Accord used to travel to the meeting, investigators said.

The victim called 911 to report the incident.  A sheriff’s helicopter and multiple units were used to track the vehicle.

The driver of the stolen BMW fled on foot but was captured and arrested while deputies later stopped the Honda Accord, and the second suspect was arrested. 

[Credit: Osceola County Sheriff's Office]

Deputies said they found a Glock handgun on him.

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Jamarri Marquis Howard, 20, of Kissimmee, was booked into the Osceola County Jail on charges of carjacking with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and resisting arrest without violence. [Credit: Osceola County Sheriff's Office]

Jamarri Marquis Howard, 20, of Kissimmee, was booked into the Osceola County Jail on charges of carjacking with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and resisting arrest without violence. 

Josiah Jermaine Ford, 19, of Kissimmee, was arrested on a charge of carjacking with a deadly weapon. [Credit: Osceola County Sheriff's Office]

Josiah Jermaine Ford, 19, of Kissimmee, was arrested on a charge of carjacking with a deadly weapon.

What you can do:

Sheriff Christopher Blackmon urged residents to use designated safe exchange zones, such as sheriff’s office parking lots, when conducting online sales, warning that refusing to meet at such locations can be a sign of criminal intent.