According to Cook County prosecutors, a man who planned to sell two luxury watches on Facebook Marketplace ended up uncovering his own armed robbery case by recognizing the alleged thief wearing one of the stolen watches in a TikTok video.
Prosecutors revealed that the victim pursued the Facebook Marketplace account’s username across various platforms, found videos pinpointing the suspect, and eventually located a TikTok video of the man wearing his expensive Audemars Piguet diamond watch. This led detectives to identify the alleged gunman as 20-year-old Jahdon Woods.
The robbery occurred on January 21 when a 22-year-old from Plainfield arranged to sell two watches. The victim had been in contact with Woods via Facebook Messenger before switching to text messages with a phone number Woods allegedly provided. The agreed meeting point was the parking lot of a bar and grill.
As Woods arrived, the victim approached the truck window, and after a brief discussion about the transaction, he presented the two watches. However, instead of paying, Woods allegedly produced a silver handgun, pointed it at the victim, seized the watches, including the sought-after Audemars Piguet, and drove off.
The victim immediately sought help by entering the restaurant and calling 911. However, after a long wait without a response from Chicago police, he returned home and filed a report the next day. Detectives later acquired surveillance footage that prosecutors said documented the entire robbery.
Upon reviewing the Facebook profile used for the transaction, the victim noticed an Instagram username linked to the account. Prosecutors reported that the victim visited the Instagram page and instantly recognized the robber. He then searched the same username on other social media platforms, finding a TikTok account. One of the videos on that account, according to prosecutors, showed Woods wearing the stolen Audemars Piguet watch.
The victim sent an image of Woods to the detectives, who forwarded it to the Illinois Secretary of State’s facial recognition unit. Prosecutors stated the system identified Woods as a potential match.
Investigators also secured a search warrant for the phone number used to organize the sale, confirming it was registered to Woods, according to prosecutors.
Judge Antara Rivera ordered Woods to be held on an armed robbery charge. Police recently detained Woods at the 26th Street courthouse after he attended a routine hearing for another gun-related case from May, which is still unresolved.
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