Facebook Marketplace scam: Jordan Behling stole money from, injured victim using promise of selling PlayStation, DA says

A 23-year-old Wheatley Heights man has pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and related charges after authorities said he met a would-be buyer he found through Facebook Marketplace, then stole their money — fleeing the scene as the victim clung to the window of his sport utility vehicle for several blocks.

The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said Jordan Behling appeared Thursday before Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven A. Pilewski, pleading guilty to one count each of first-degree robbery, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and leaving the scene of an incident resulting in serious physical injury. The district attorney's office said an investigation found Behling had stolen money from two other victims under similar circumstances after they'd arranged with him to purchase a PlayStation 5 he'd offered for sale on Facebook.

Behling is scheduled to appear for sentencing on Feb. 13, and is expected to be sentenced to 5 years in prison.

According to court documents — and his own plea allocution — on June 16, 2023, Behling met with a victim he'd made contact with through Facebook Marketplace. The victim believed he was there to buy a Play Station 5, but after the victim handed Behling $280 for the gaming console, the district attorney's office said, Behling instead attempted to flee the scene in his 2020 Chevrolet Equinox without giving the buyer the PlayStation.

At the time, authorities said, the victim was still partially inside Behling's vehicle.

Behling drove for two blocks, authorities said, weaving through traffic to "purposely shake the victim off" the SUV he was clinging to and sideswiped a parked car in order to dislodge the victim from his vehicle, prosecutors said.

Portions of Behling's attempt to flee were caught on video surveillance.

The victim, whose identity was not released, was taken to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for treatment of a shattered pelvis and other injuries that authorities said required "multiple surgeries."

Prosecutors said investigators found parts belonging to the Equinox at the scene and Suffolk County police determined the SUV had been rented by a family member who'd allowed Behling to use it at the time of the crash.

The vehicle was impounded as evidence.

In a statement Thursday, Suffolk District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said: "We will not tolerate theft in Suffolk County. Worse still, this defendant coupled his theft with violence. That equation equals prison."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”