The latest edition of Stupid Things People Do For Sneakers takes us to Enfield, Connecticut, where a local man was arrested in a sneaker sale that went awry.
According to police chief Alaric Fox, on January an officer was driving through the Bigelow Commons housing complex shortly before 11 p.m. when he had a brief conversation with a man waiting in a car at the complex. The gentleman indicated to the officer that he was waiting for 23-year-old Xavier McFarlane, who was the buyer of a pair of Air Jordans for $320, negotiated through OfferUp. “The officer told the man ‘good luck’ and went on his way” , Fox said.
This man the officer briefly conversed with was the future robbery victim.
Shortly after this interaction the same officer would be flagged down by a woman who said she had the robbery victim in her car.
The victim relayed to the officers that while he was talking to McFarlance through his passenger window another man snuck onto the driver side with a gun and demanded his gun and cellular phone, valued at $500. The victim then ran away, but looked back to see McFarlane and two other males rifling through his car.
Chief Fox said the victim’s gym bag that contained $350 worth of boxing gear was taken, along with the Air Jordan sneakers.
McFarlane was arrested on February 8. He was charged with two counts of first-degree robbery. He was arraigned in Hartford Superior Court the next day. He was released on a $50, 000 bond and is due back in court March 30.
Chief Fox said the investigation is ongoing, as the two accomplices of McFarlane have yet to be apprehended.
