Calgary police are calling it a sobering reminder about the dangers of selling online.
A Calgary couple is sharing their story of being beaten and almost robbed in their own home after two men showed up to buy a laptop.
It began like most other online transactions when calls were made and messages were left about a gaming laptop that Jason Nguyen had for sale.
They agreed to meet at Nguyen’s home in south Dover, where he lives with his wife, Nanh Au.
At that point everything seemed normal.
“They wanted to verify that the machine is in working condition, they wanted to test the machine and if there was any issues at all,” said Nguyen.
Jason Nguyen and Nanh Au say they decided to share their story because they don’t want the same thing to happen to anyone else.
CCTV
They agreed to meet around 3:30 p.m. and the buyers showed up around 3:50 p.m.
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“I saw two individuals come up and it was -13, -15 outside, so they were covered from head to toe. I’ve dealt with this in the past where it was like -20 weather and people were covered from head to toe,” said Nguyen.
The two potential buyers stepped inside, said Nguyen, and started asking what seemed like normal questions like, “When did you get it?”
“So I’m telling them to test it and they’re telling me go ahead and just box it up, we’ll take it.”
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Nguyen said the two men promised to pay by etransfer so he sent them his email, but the two men started putting on their shoes and pulled out their phones.
“Then they pulled out the bear spray and they sprayed it all across my face, in my eyes, and they continuously sprayed,” said Nguyen. “At that point, I was blinded, I couldn’t see anything at all.”
Jason Nguyen says nothing seemed out of the ordinary until one of the perpetrators pulled out a can of bear spray and sprayed him in the face.
CCTV
Nguyen grabbed onto the person who sprayed him and the three of them wrestled out the door.
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“Because I held on to that guy, he dropped the laptop on the floor,” said Nguyen. “He didn’t make out with anything at all. But he continuously sprayed me in my face as I as I was holding on.
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“I was being dragged outside, they were punching me in my neck, my arms, my ribs, my neck, like all over my body. I was … being dragged down the cement.”
Nguyen’s wife, who was still inside, heard the ruckus and came to investigate.
“I heard a really loud noise,” said Au. “So I came out immediately, but because of the bear spray the smell is so strong. I see my husband is being dragged outside, and then I see the shovel, so I just grab it and (tell them) let him go.”
One of the perpetrators then ran back inside the home to grab a cellphone he dropped during the struggle.
“That’s when I attacked him, said Nguyen. “I hit him in the head and I punched him, I brought him to the ground, and then my wife she brought in a shovel. I took the handle and I started hitting him with the shovel, just forcing him forcing him outside of the house.”
Unfortunately the person managed to retrieve the cellphone before taking off.
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The couple called police right away and officers arrived within five to 10 minutes.
Nguyen still has the laptop, but they had to clean their entire house because of the bear spray and he has lot of bruises and scratches on his arms from the fight.
Jason Nguyen shows off some of the scratches and bruises he still has from the fight that took place when the two people who said they wanted to buy his laptop ended up pepper spraying and beating him in his own home.
Global News
Calgary police Insp. Jason Walker describes the story as a reminder of the dangers of letting people come to your home when engaging in online transactions — something he admits that even he has done.
Walker suggests anyone wanting to buy or sell stuff online should do it in the parking lot of their local police station.
“Come down to a district parking lot, come to the West Winds Police Headquarters parking lot. Feel free to make use of our areas to engage in some of these transactions,” said Walker.
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“It’s all about just trying to stay safe, especially this time of year when we see an uptick in online transactions like this, with things like this possibly being the outcome if we’re not careful,” adds Walker.
“This is an assault, this is a robbery, this is extremely serious.”
So far police haven’t made any arrests, but they have good video of the perpetrators and they’ll search the laptop and can of bear spray for fingerprints.
They’re also making a plea for anyone who has doorbell or security camera video from the south Dover area on Saturday or dashcam video from anyone from the area north of Peigan and east of 36 Street on Saturday afternoon, between 3 and 5 p.m., to give them a call.
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