A 19-year-old Pennsylvania man paid the price for boasting about inheriting expensive jewelry on social media.
Robbers targeted the victim's home in the Somerton section of Philadelphia after he recently posted boastful details about an expensive jewelry inheritance on Facebook and Instagram, New York Post reported. The suspects remain at large.
"Thank God I wasn't here. God works in mysterious ways, nobody got hurt," said Ray Farrell, who lives in the townhome with the victim but wasn't home during the crime. "Definitely someone affiliated with him - had to be one of his friends or a friend of a friend. I think it was a set up."
Around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, three armed suspects wearing ski masks broke into the man's Philadelphia residence and demanded to be handed over the valuables posted on the victim's Instagram earlier that day, 6ABC reported.
"You just heard a big crash, it was either a gunshot or them breaking the glass. You heard glass shattering then you heard them out front yell, 'Run! Get out of the house!" said neighbor Reign Alimenti.
Since five men, between the ages of 17 and 19, were trapped inside the Somerton neighborhood home, one of them managed to call 911 from a bathroom.
Additionally, neighbor Anthony Montico armed himself with a handgun after hearing the commotion from the victim's house. "I saw two gentlemen running from an upstairs floor. They apparently jumped out of the second floor window after they held up a bunch of kids or something in the house. After that happened, I tried to chase them down. But they ran so fast," he told Action News.
The thieves were able to escape through a rear window with a Rolex watch, two gold chains and multiple cellphones, according to New York Daily News.
According to authorities, the suspects mentioned during the robbery that they had targeted the resident after coming across his social media posts about inheriting expensive valuables and Rolex watches.
Meanwhile the suspects are described as:
- A black male, 5'10, muscular build, wearing a black ski mask.
- A black or Latino male, 5'8, medium build, wearing a black ski mask.
- A white male, 6'1, 170 to 180 pounds, in a black ski mask, and a light blue hooded sweatshirt.
Police ask anyone with information to call them at 215-686-8477.
