SC residents wanted to buy items on Facebook. Then they were robbed at gunpoint

A Sumter County resident wanted to buy a used trailer off of Facebook Marketplace, but when he went to meet the seller, he was robbed at gunpoint instead, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s deputies, along with the U.S. Marshals Service, arrested Javontae Antonia Lewis, 20, on Friday morning.

Lewis and a second unnamed suspect are accused of using the Facebook Marketplace ploy a total of four times. Lewis is charged with attempted robbery, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, criminal conspiracy and pointing a firearm at a person.

Lewis had already been charged with three counts of attempted murder for a 2022 incident and had been out on bail and wearing an ankle monitor at the time of his arrest Friday, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Lewis was taken to the Sumter County Detention Center after his arrest and is awaiting a bond hearing.