Local

Woman robbed of diamond ring in St. Augustine Target parking lot during letgo transaction

A local man is in jail, accused of using the letgo app to meet a woman and steal her $2,100 diamond ring.

‘Letgo’ is a popular app for buying and selling items.

But the Saint Augustine Police Department said Alberto Lugo Soto, 35, had other ideas.

Police said he met the woman in the Target parking lot off U.S. 1 Wednesday night. Officers said when the victim showed Lugo Soto the ring, he snatched it out of the case and ran.

Target customers couldn't wrap their heads around it.

“I probably wouldn’t believe it,” shopper Patti Flynn said.

Police said K-9 units tracked Soto to some nearby bushes, where they said they caught him hiding.

Officers said he had a pocket knife, and no ring.

"I’m glad they caught him,” Flynn said. “I think about safety, number one, in this parking lot for anyone that might come here with children.”

In August, jail records show St. Johns County deputies arrested Soto on drug charges.

Records show, right now, he's behind bars for this on a $10,000 bond.

“Things happen today that are just crazy,” Flynn said. “You just can’t trust anybody.”