News Flash

Durham Teen Charged in Connection with Five Internet Buy/Sell Robberies

A Durham teen has been arrested and charged with committing four Internet buy/sell robberies and one attempted robbery in the past month. The teen – Jemarye Farrington, 16, of Durham – was arrested earlier this week on Dunn Avenue by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Joint Fugitive Task Force.

Farrington is charged in connection with the following cases:

• June 18 at 6:40 p.m. in the 4800 block of Old Chapel Hill Road. A man used a stun gun to rob a woman of cash after she responded to an ad about a phone on the letgo app. Two other men accompanied the suspect and they left in a white Hyundai Elantra.
• June 23 shortly before 5:30 p.m. in the 6700 block of Fayetteville Road. A man went to this location to purchase a Sony PlayStation advertised on OfferUp. He met two men in the parking lot and one pulled a knife on him and took his cash.
• June 30 at 6:20 p.m. in the 800 block of Clayton Road. A man went to this location to purchase a phone advertised on the OfferUp app. He was robbed of cash by a man with a stun gun. The man and his accomplices fled in a white Hyundai Elantra.
• July 1 at 8:20 p.m. in the 1300 block of West Club Boulevard. The victim met with several men to purchase a phone advertised on OfferUp. One suspect pointed a weapon that flashed at the victim and took his cash. The men left in a white Hyundai Elantra.
• July 7 shortly after 2 p.m. in the 3400 block of Hillsborough Road. The victim met with two men to buy a phone that had been advertised on OfferUp. The victim discovered the phone did not work and told the suspects he was not going to buy it. The suspects pulled a stun gun on the victim, but the victim was able to run away.

Investigators learned that the white Hyundai Elantra had been reported stolen in Raleigh.

Farrington is facing the following charges: three counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, one count of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, three counts of possession of a stolen vehicle and four counts of conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon. Farrington is in the Durham County Jail under a $175,000 bond.

Investigators are trying to identify the other men involved in the robberies. Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator Bernock at (919) 560-4440, ext. 29414 or CrimeStoppers at (919) 683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.

The Durham Police Department offers the following crime prevention tips with respect to this type of crime:

• Be cautious and trust your instincts. If something does not feel right, leave
• Meet in a public place
• Meet during daylight hours
• Tell a friend or family member where you are going
• Take a friend with you, if possible
• Do not carry large amounts of cash
• Do not divulge personal information
• Be wary of last minute changes in the meeting location

• Save any and all communications with the seller/buyer (text messages, emails, voicemails, etc.)
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• Designated Internet Buy/Sell parking spaces have been set up at the Durham Police Department’s substation 1 at 921 Holloway Street and substation 4 at 2945 South Miami Boulevard.