PASADENA, Texas – Ashley Guzman thought picking a public place to sell her iPad would be the safe thing to do, but she quickly realized she was wrong.
“People are careless nowadays and they don’t care,” Guzman said.
Guzman and her husband met up with a man they connected with over the OfferUp app for an exchange outside the Best Buy in Pasadena.
The man is shown on Best Buy's surveillance camera handing Guzman the $1,000 she had asked for and right before the man takes the iPad, Guzman gets suspicious over the money.
“It looked fake and I told my husband we should go into Best Buy and have them mark it,” Guzman said.
While the money was being checked, Guzman noticed the suspect was starting to get nervous.
“He reached between me and my husband, he put his hand on the tablet and I felt him trembling and I put my hand on top of the tablet, as well,” Guzman said.
The suspect then grabbed the iPad and took off. Guzman and her husband chased after him and tackled him.
The suspect dropped the iPad and took off into a getaway car.
“It's just scary that I know thousands of people meet daily at these public places and none of them are safe,” Guzman said.
Vance Mitchell with Pasadena Police said the best place to do an exchange with a stranger is at the police station.
“Somebody that's not going to do the right thing probably will have a real reservation about coming and meeting at the police department,” Mitchell said.