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Man shot, killed in public meet-up for sale organized online

Man shot, killed in public meet-up for sale organized online
Posted at 3:32 PM, May 09, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-09 16:32:45-04

A man attempting to buy shoes from someone he met on the internet was shot and killed in a restaurant parking lot Monday.

It happened outside a Carrabba's restaurant in Smyrna, Georgia. Police said no one involved in the "Craigslist-style" transaction entered the restaurant. Several people who were eating inside at the time did not realize a crime had occurred outside until much later.

The victim, later identified as 27-year-old Mezaio Pickett, brought money to buy shoes, and police said the seller shot him and took the money.

It's not clear if the shoes ever existed.

Police are looking for a man with twists in his hair, who witnesses said was driving a small, four-door car with extremely faded paint on the trunk.

The part of Cumberland Blvd where this happened is a busy stretch of road, close to Cumberland Mall and I-285.

In May, one other person in metro Atlanta was killed and another was presumed dead in similar online sales.

A woman in Lithonia, Georgia was shot to death while trying to buy a smart phone. She and her husband had met someone at an apartment complex to buy a cell phone posted online. There is no suspect in custody.

Police haven't located a man who they said is missing after meeting someone in Atlanta to sell his pickup truck. They found his truck with blood in it at an area hotel.