Man on probation arrested for robbery after allegedly snatching phone from woman during Facebook Marketplace transaction

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Isaac Levern Fleming, III, 19, was arrested yesterday after allegedly snatching an iPhone from a woman selling the phone on Facebook Marketplace and then selling the phone to Game Stop.

The victim had put her iPhone up for sale on Facebook Marketplace and had been contacted by “Steve Watson.” She arranged to meet him at the northwest Walmart and sell him the phone for $600.

At about 8:15 p.m. on November 10, the victim went to Walmart, where she was approached by Fleming, who reportedly identified himself as “Jamal.” While the victim was demonstrating that the iPhone worked, Fleming allegedly pushed her to the ground, grabbed the phone, and ran.

The victim looked at the “Steve Watson” profile on Facebook and found that the profile only had three friends; one of them, “Offtop Ike,” had pictures resembling the man who had robbed her. A Gainesville Police Department investigator reportedly matched the “Offtop Ike” profile to Fleming, and the victim reportedly identified Fleming in a six-person photo line-up.

The GPD officer searched a pawn network for the iPhone and found that it had been sold at Game Stop at 2631 NW 13th Place on November 11 by Fleming’s mother. The employee who completed the transaction told the officer that he remembered a young man bringing the phone in, but he couldn’t sell it because he didn’t have an ID. The young man went to get his mother, who was outside, and she completed the transaction.

The officer spoke with Fleming’s mother, who confirmed that she sold the phone for him but said she did not know it was stolen.

Post Miranda, Fleming reportedly said he found the phone in the bushes near Walmart and decided to sell it; he denied meeting with the victim. He reportedly admitted that the “Offtop Ike” Facebook profile was his and said his mother did not know the phone was stolen.

Fleming has been charged with robbery by sudden snatching and dealing in stolen property. He has juvenile criminal convictions between 2018 and 2021 and is on probation following a July 2022 arrest for unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon and resisting an officer without violence. He originally entered into a pre-trial intervention contract, but it was revoked in February 2023 because he was found to have smoked marijuana. In April, Fleming entered a plea of nolo contendere to the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of six years in state prison, in exchange for withhholding adjudication of guilt and 18 months of probation on the concealed weapon charge and adjudication of guilt and 12 months of probation on the charge of resisting arrest.

Judge Mark Moseley set bail at $40,000. Fleming has not yet been charged with violation of probation.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.