BOCA RATON, Fla. – An 18-year-old man used Backpage.com to lure and rob a woman and two others in Boca Raton, police said.
Gary Rojas was arrested Wednesday on charges of armed robbery, armed kidnapping and armed sexual battery.
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Boca Raton police said a woman told detectives that Rojas called her about an advertisement that she placed on Backpage.com about a room for rent. She said Rojas expressed interest in the room, and they arranged to meet so she could show it to him.
While she was showing him the room Monday, Rojas pulled out a gun, demanded money and repeatedly told her that he wanted to kill her, police said.
The woman said she didn't have any money and would need to go to an ATM, so Rojas drove her car to the TD Bank on Palmetto Park Road and withdrew $700, police said.
In the car, Rojas told the woman that he wanted to rent a room and have her lure men there so he could rob them, she told police.
Police said Rojas admitted to a similar robbery Tuesday morning at the Boca Inn. As before, the two victims didn't have any money, and Rojas eventually drove away in a silver Volkswagen Beetle, police said.
A tipster who recognized Rojas from surveillance photographs notified police, and Rojas was arrested Wednesday night. Police said the gun used in the robberies was determined to be a BB gun.