CYBER SALE BRINGS ROBBERY – AVOID TRANSACTIONS WITH UNKNOWN SELLERS IN ISOLATED LOCATIONS
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Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato and Lakehurst Police Chief Eric Higgins today announced the arrest of Christopher Dupont, 22, of Lakehurst. Dupont is charged with First Degree Robbery, Theft, Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon. Charges were approved by Ocean County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Heisler.
The arrest stems from an investigation by Lakehurst Police Ptl. Jason Guide and Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crimes Unit (HTCU) Det. Ray Coles into the January 20, 2018, report of an armed robbery that occurred near the Pinehurst Estates Apartments in Lakehurst Township. The victim, a 45 year old male from Ocean Township, reported that he believed he would be meeting up with a man named “Ron Shafto” to purchase an Apple iPhone that was listed for sale via the mobile app “Letgo”. The app is a classifieds application, which allows local users to chat, buy, sell, and trade used goods. However, instead of selling a phone, the suspect, later identified as Dupont, allegedly entered the victim’s vehicle, pulled a grey switchblade on him, and demanded the victim’s money, wallet, and car keys before fleeing on foot.
Lakehurst Police immediately conducted an area search for the suspect to include police K-9s, however, Dupont whose identity was unknown at the time, was not located. OCPO HTCU’s investigation would determine that Dupont took covert measures to hide his identity by utilizing a fake name and email address to register his Letgo account. Det. Coles was able to obtain Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that were utilized to access Letgo and subsequently tracked them back to Dupont.
Due to Dupont’s previous violent criminal history, as well as, the fact that Dupont was out on bail for previous Attempted Kidnapping/Robbery charges, a NO KNOCK Warrant was obtained to enter his residence on February 1, 2018. The warrant was executed by the partnering agencies, with the assistance of the Ocean County Regional SWAT Team. Christopher Dupont was located within the residence and taken into custody without incident. An examination of Dupont’s cellphone conducted by the OCPO HTCU yielded additional evidence which linked him to the Letgo account. Dupont was placed in the Ocean County Jail pending mandatory detention hearing tentatively scheduled for Wednesday (2/7).
The media and public are reminded that criminal charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.