Police in Columbia, Missouri, arrested four suspects, including a male juvenile, in connection with a series of Facebook Marketplace robberies that left one man dead earlier this week.
Investigators identified the victim who was shot and killed on Sunday, January 18, as 42-year-old Michael Ryan Burke.
Boone County prosecutors charged 18-year-olds Kobe Aust, Joseph Crane and Alexis Baumann with second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and first-degree robbery.
The juvenile was arrested for second-degree murder, armed criminal action, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and unlawful use of a weapon. KOMU reports he’ll face a certification hearing to see if he’ll be charged and tried as an adult.
According to the probable cause statement, the first theft happened just after 1 p.m. on Jan. 16 on Claudell Lane. Two people arrived at the home of a woman who was selling her iPhone on Facebook Marketplace.
After she showed them the iPhone, the duo grabbed the phone from her hands and ran away, according to the probable cause statement.
The following day at 6:35 p.m., officers responded to a robbery on Northampton Drive. Again, the victim reported that she was selling her iPhone on Facebook Marketplace. When the buyer showed up, the victim said he grabbed the phone from her hands and began to walk away.
“The suspect pointed a pistol at her and stated, ‘If you touch me I’ll shoot you,’” the probable cause statement says.
Detectives were able to match the serial number of the iPhone with a phone that was sold at an ecoATM machine at Walmart at 6:45 p.m. They also used traffic cameras and identified the suspects’ car heading in the direction of that Walmart, according to the probable cause statement.
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The suspect identified, in the report as Baumann, was seen selling the phone at Walmart along with a juvenile suspect. Surveillance video from Walmart also showed another suspect with the two.
The probable cause statement says ecoATM provided photos of Baumann allegedly selling a different phone at the same ecoATM on Jan. 8.
Man shot to death during Facebook Marketplace sale
On Jan. 18 at 8:14 p.m., officers responded to a shooting on Ridgemont Court. When officers arrived, they found Burke inside the residence suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died from the injuries.
Before his death, the probable cause statement says the victim called 911 and reported someone came to buy his phone then shot him.
Detectives looked through the victim’s Facebook messages and saw that he had arranged to sell his phone to one of the suspects. Traffic cameras also captured the suspects’ car in the area minutes after the shooting, according to the probable cause statement.
On Jan. 19, officers arrested all four suspects.
The probable cause statement says Baumann admitted to being present for all of the thefts. She told detectives that she had driven the other suspects in her car to all of the locations.
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Baumann also told detectives that one of the suspects had arranged to meet with the victims via Facebook; she said everyone in the car knew they were going to steal the phones.
According to the probable cause statement, on the night of the shooting, Baumann said the juvenile suspect and Crane went inside the victim’s home – where she then heard three gunshots being fired. She and the other suspects then drove away from the scene.
Baumann said the juvenile suspect admitted to shooting the victim, the probable cause statement says.
Aust and Crane admitted to being involved with the killing, according to the probable cause statement. Crane said he was in the home during the robbery, when the juvenile suspect pulled a gun on the victim.
Jail records show all three adult suspects are still in custody, with Aust and Crane due in court on January 27, and Bauman on January 29. The certification process for the juvenile is ongoing and may take more than a month according to KOMU.
