Man arrested for using Facebook  Marketplace to set up robberies

Published 1:03 pm Wednesday, July 30, 2025

VALDOSTA — 19-year-old Clavon Jones was arrested July 23 after allegedly using Facebook Marketplace to lure people before robbing them at gunpoint.

The Valdosta Police Department responded to a 911 call from a Valdosta resident July 21, who told officers that he had been robbed near Spanish Mission Apartments. When officers arrived on the scene, the victim told police that he was trying to sell his PlayStation 5 console on Facebook Marketplace. During the sale, the buyer reportedly pulled out a gun and pushed it into the victim’s stomach before grabbing the console and walking away.

VPD responded to a similar call on July 23 at the same location, where another victim told officers that a man had agreed to meet the seller at that location, and during the sale, the suspect pulled a gun out and stole the PlayStation.

“Detectives who were investigating the robbery from July 21st had developed a possible apartment where the offender might have lived,” a new release from VPD said. “Officers with the Valdosta Police Department K9 unit began tracking from the incident location.”

The search led to the apartment that detectives connected to the crimes, and officers were able to contact Jones, who matched descriptions given by the victims and was identified by a victim on the scene. He was arrested without incident.

After obtaining a search warrant, officers were able to search the apartment, where they found a gun and the first stolen PlayStation among the evidence allegedly connecting Jones to the crime. He was also found to have an active arrest warrant for an outside incident.

Jones was charged with two counts of armed robbery and two counts of firearm possession during the commission of a felony. Further charges are pending, as officers are still investigating similar incidents.

“We strongly encourage people who are buying and selling through social media to not go to anyone’s residence to make the exchange,” Police Chief Leslie Manahan said. “We recommend that people meet in law enforcement parking lots, much like the one at the Valdosta Police Department. Not only are they well-lit and recorded, but law-enforcement is always close by.”