LEE COUNTY, Fla. —
Two women have been arrested after police say a Facebook Marketplace gold sale in Cape Coral turned into a robbery, with the victim dragged by a fleeing vehicle.
On Oct. 14, Cape Coral police officers spoke with the victim, who said she and her husband advertised gold for sale on Facebook Marketplace and arranged a sale. She told officers that at approximately 7:20 p.m., the buyer said they were at the residence, prompting the victim and her husband to meet the individuals in the driveway.
According to the Cape Coral Police Department arrest report, the victim’s husband sat in his vehicle in the driveway because they both felt uneasy about the transaction.
He also took a photo of the vehicle’s license plate that the buyer arrived in, a 2014 Nissan. The victim spoke to the vehicle’s passenger, later identified as Ariella Nicastro, 19, near the trunk of the vehicle.
Nicastro put an envelope of money on the trunk and told the victim that she was going to test the gold, according to the report. After testing the gold, Nicastro said that she was going to weigh it but walked to the passenger side door of the vehicle, quickly entered it, and closed the door, CCPD said.
According to the report, the victim tried to get the jewelry back, but the vehicle drove away as she was attempting to open the door, causing her to fall to the ground and be dragged along the asphalt. The victim reportedly suffered road rash injuries on her arms and torso but refused medical attention.
The victim also realized that the money left on the trunk, which had fallen off when the two suspects drove away, was fake.
The victim told police that she had been communicating with an individual on Facebook Marketplace since Oct. 11, and the individual agreed to buy the gold for $4,900. The report states that the driver never exited the vehicle during the transaction; however, investigators were able to identify her and the passenger, Nicastro, through law enforcement databases.
Police said the driver was identified as Lauren Joseph, 17, after they discovered she was stopped by law enforcement while driving the same Nissan in July. Nicastro was also stopped by law enforcement in September while driving the Nissan, CCPD said.
CCPD contacted the Collier County Sheriff’s Office for help determining if the vehicle was at Nicastro or Joseph’s residences.
According to police, the car belonged to Joesph’s mother, who told officers that Joseph and Nicastro had the vehicle the evening of the crime, but that she didn’t know about their exact activities because she was working that night.
The report states that detectives then spoke to Nicastro on the phone, and she admitted that she and Joseph went to Cape Coral to buy the jewelry and that they had both been struggling to pay their rent and didn’t know how else to make money quickly.
In a call with detectives, Joseph said she drove her mother’s car to Cape Coral with Nicastro, but denied knowing exactly what Nicastro planned to do and said she only remembered Nicastro telling her to “drive away,” according to the report.
Nicastro agreed to come to CCPD headquarters on Oct. 16 to turn in the jewelry. She was subsequently arrested and is facing a charge of robbery by sudden snatching. According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office website, Joseph was also arrested for robbery by sudden snatching.
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