Craigslist meet-up in Hanford winds up a robbery

Hanford police released the name and photo of a man wanted for arranging a Craigslist transaction and turning it into a robbery and carjacking.

The wanted man has been identified as Adrian Martinez, 23, of Lemoore.

Police said Martinez put an item up for sale on Craigslist and arranged to meet a 30-year-old Hanford resident in the area of Parkside and Elberta Drives to sell him the goods.

About 5 p.m. Saturday, the victim drove his car to the meeting place and Martinez got into the front passenger seat. He sold the victim the item, then took the man’s iPhone, payment and the merchandise and started getting out of the car.

The victim got out of his car to go around to the passenger side to stop Martinez from leaving, but Martinez got into the driver’s seat and started the car, police said.

The victim got into the back seat and started striking Martinez as he drove away. Martinez hit him and stopped the car after about half a block, then ran off with the iPhone, money, the item for the transaction and car keys, which he soon dropped, police said.

The victim contacted police, who used an image from a video surveillance camera to identify the suspect.

A warrant has been issued for Martinez’s arrest. Anyone with information on Martinez should call Hanford police at 559-585-2540.

This story was originally published November 30, 2015 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Craigslist meet-up in Hanford winds up a robbery."