Fresno man arrested in armed robbery during online sales meetup

What started as a routine online sale ended with a pistol pointed at a driver on South Holly Avenue and a Fresno man in jail on robbery and firearm charges. Police say 19-year-old Darnell Deshawn Huff turned a June 5 meetup in the 2300 block of South Holly into an armed holdup after the victim arrived to sell an item advertised online.

Officers were dispatched around 8:56 p.m. and found that the buyer-seller exchange had quickly become a street robbery. Investigators say Huff approached the victim, asked where he was from, opened the victim’s car doors and demanded the property that had been listed for sale. He then allegedly pulled out a black pistol, pointed it at the victim, took the item from the back seat and walked away through an alley.

Detectives later identified Huff, and a U.S. Marshals task force arrested him Tuesday, June 17. He was booked into Fresno County Jail with bail set at $110,000 and faces robbery and assault with a firearm charges. The arrest underscores how quickly a simple marketplace app transaction can shift from a digital exchange to a violent face-to-face confrontation.

The case also fits a pattern Fresno residents have seen before. In 2021, a man was shot during an online sale meetup in the city, a reminder that public locations are safer than private parking lots or isolated blocks when cash and valuables change hands. That warning has pushed police to keep steering people toward safer exchange sites.

Fresno Police district stations have Safe Exchange Zones that are publicly visible and video-surveilled. Those locations include 224 South Argyle Street in southeast Fresno, 1211 Fresno Street in southwest Fresno, 3080 West Shaw Avenue in northwest Fresno and 1450 East Teague Avenue in northeast Fresno. Police have said those spaces are intended for child-custody exchanges and for people meeting to buy or sell items from social media sites.

Marketplace platforms give similar advice. OfferUp tells users to meet in a well-lit public location and points them toward official Community MeetUp Spots. For Fresno buyers and sellers, the safest move is to use a police station exchange zone, bring another person and stay alert if a seller or buyer starts asking unusual questions, tries to isolate the meeting or approaches a vehicle before the exchange is set.

The arrest comes as Fresno Police continue emphasizing enforcement and prevention. In its 2024 annual report, the department said officers issued 32,068 citations, up 17% from 2023, while reported collisions fell 8%. For residents trading online, the lesson from South Holly Avenue is plain: a fast meetup can turn dangerous in seconds, and the safest exchange is the one that never leaves a watched, public place.