A Colorado man will serve nearly two decades in federal prison after he used Facebook Marketplace to target victims, shooting one and stealing two high-end cars, Denver7 Investigates has found.
▶️WATCH: Denver7 Investigates' Jennifer Kovaleski dug into this case and shares a warning for others who buy and sell items via social media.
It’s a case prosecutors and law enforcement hope will serve as a warning for people trying to sell items on social media.
Alec Deschryver, 26, was sentenced to 18 years in prison earlier this month after pleading guilty to two counts of carjacking. Prosecutors said he was targeting luxury cars for sale, like Mercedes Benz, and the sellers through Facebook Marketplace.
District of Colorado U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly prosecuted the case and called Deschryver a “violent and determined criminal.”
Court records show the first robbery occurred in Loveland in October 2023, when Deschryver used his Facebook account to set up a meeting to look at a Mercedes sedan.
“The husband of the woman who posted the vehicle went on the test drive and got carjacked at gunpoint,” McNeilly said.
A month later, officers with the Denver Police Department came across a very similar case, but this time the victim was shot in the thigh while he was removing a car seat from the back of the vehicle.
“It was an escalating pattern of conduct,” McNeilly said.
Chris Ashbridge, special agent in charge of the Denver Field Division for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said his office became involved and helped bring the two cases together, using surveillance video, online messages and ballistics. It helped turn the two carjackings into one federal prosecution.
“We were able to take what may have appeared to be isolated incidents and connect them into a string of violent crimes,” Ashbridge said. “Violent criminals — they value property more than they value another human being’s life.”
McNeilly warned that criminals are targeting online marketplaces and urged anyone who buys or sells items online to take protective steps before meeting anyone face to face.
He said this case is a prime example of how quickly a sale can turn violent. He recommends that people set up meetings at public places and police-designated areas.
“We turn to these sites because it’s fast and it’s easy. Be careful where you arrange things to happen. Bringing someone to your house is a risky practice,” McNeilly said. “Do whatever you can to verify who these people are ahead of time and try to see if their profile matches the nature of the communications.”
