A fake cell phone sale was the impetus of a handful of men being arrested Saturday evening near the Empire Mall.

Initially a Sioux Falls woman arranged to buy an iPhone from one of the men through a Facebook buy/sell/trade page. As the two met in her vehicle near Wendy’s at 41st and Louise around 8:00 PM they exchanged money and the phone.

Officer Sam Clemens says the man grabbed the phone as he exited the vehicle.

“She saw that he was running towards a vehicle parked in the Payless Shoes parking lot. She was trying to beat the suspect to that car. The SUV pulled forward and ended up hitting her vehicle.”

After the collision, the SUV drove away and the suspect switched directions and went north. The victim was able to contact police who found the suspect on foot near Wal-Mart and the SUV with four people inside. Clemens says everything was an elaborate scheme.

“Everybody had planned this ahead of time. They knew that they were going to try to sell this phone and (commit robbery).”

Arrested were Akuang Boing, 20, who was charged with 2nd Degree Robbery. The driver, Madie Odiel, 21, was charged on multiple counts of Aiding and Abetting as well as Accessory to Robbery.

The other men, Sammy Berhe, 19, Beneyam Moges, 21, and Taimrat Gebremedhin, 21, were all charged with accessory to robbery.


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