Craigslist deal gone bad: Man robbed, dragged down Highway 17 in North Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach, S.C. (WPDE) — A Craigslist deal went awry Wednesday evening when a man was robbed and then dragged down Highway 17, according to a North Myrtle Beach police report.

Police were dispatched to the area of 710 South Highway 17 around 6 p.m.

The victim told police that he had placed an ad on Craigslist to sell his Apple iPhone 7, which was valued at $300, according to the report.

He planned to meet the suspect in the parking lot of the Taco Bell at 1209 South Highway 17. When he arrived, the victim says the suspect took the phone to look at it, then got into the passenger side of his car and tried to flee without paying, the report states.

The victim then chased after the car and leaned into the window to try to get back his phone, according to the report. Police say the suspect continued to drive down Highway 17, dragging the victim along the side of the vehicle for about a quarter to half a mile.

The victim suffered “severe abrasions and swelling” to both legs and was taken to the Grand Strand Medical Center ER by paramedics for treatment, according to the report.

One witness told police that she saw the vehicle dragging the victim up the road and added that the driver was “swerving side to side in an effort to get [the victim] off the vehicle.” She also said in the report that the driver also tried knocking him into lamp poles along the side of the highway.

Another witness, an employee at the Taco Bell, saw the cars of the victim and the suspect pull in next to each other before the incident, the report stated.

The car was described by the victim and witnesses as a black Ford Crown Victoria. A surveillance video confirmed that description, along with having a New Jersey license plate and as a 2003 model, according to the report.

That surveillance footage also captured a majority of the event. Police say it depicts:

“…a black Ford Crown Victoria pull into the parking lot and back into a parking space adjacent to Highway 17. A short time later [the victim] is observed pulling into the parking space next to him at which point [the suspect] gets out of the front passenger seat of the suspect vehicle and gets into the front passenger seat of [the victim’s] vehicle. After about a minute, the [suspect] gets out of [the victim’s] vehicle, hops back into the suspect vehicle and the vehicle goes to flee the scene. While this is taking place, [the victim] gets out of his vehicle and leans into the passenger side window of the suspect’s vehicle and is dragged along side of the vehicle at a high rate of speed heading northbound.”

Police say they met with the victim at the hospital following the incident. He was under the influence of pain medication, so he was unable to give a clear account of what happened other than what he had already told police on scene.

However, the victim did state the he wanted to pursue charges in the incident and was advised that someone would follow up with him on a later date, according to police.

According to the report, the victim also lost several things in the event, including $1,024 in cash, a Discover card, an Apple Rewards card, a set of keys and a camo folding knife, all which were returned to him.

Additionally, a $100 bill and a shoe were placed into evidence in connection to the incident, according to the report.

Police are still investigating.