ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are hurt, and a woman is behind bars after a Facebook Marketplace meetup in which the suspect arranged to purchase a car and allegedly tried to steal it.
Tamia Moore, 20, faces four felonies in St. Louis County in connection with the investigation.
Charges stem from an incident on Nov. 4 outside a Schnucks parking lot in Jennings. Moore met two people in-person about potentially buying their car after connecting through Facebook Marketplace.
According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, the two would-be sellers offered to let Moore take a test drive with one of them in the car. After a brief test drive, Moore returned to the parking lot and inquired about purchasing the vehicle, but handed over less money than she reportedly agreed upon.
One of the would-be sellers then asked Moore about the money before a series of events followed. Investigators say Moore took the money back and tried to get into the vehicle to drive away. One victim attempted to grab the keys from inside before Moore could drive away.
Per court documents, the encounter led to Moore stepping on the gas and briefly driving through the parking lot with one victim hanging out the window. Within seconds, Moore crashed into a second vehicle, and the victim fell to the ground.
As the second victim went to check on the situation, Moore allegedly hit that victim in the face and ran away from the scene.
The victims shared a photo of Moore to authorities, who requested a warrant last Sunday. Moore was arrested Monday and is jailed in St. Louis County on a $50,000 cash-only bond.
Prosecutors have charged Moor with first-degree robbery, second-degree assault, third-degree assault and property damage.
Amid this investigation and others, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is reminding people to be vigilant during online marketplace transactions. People are encouraged to follow several safety precautions, such as meeting in well-lit public locations, bringing someone with you during an exchange and potentially meeting at a police office.
