Edward Brown reported a theft by swindle Thursday after paying a man who claimed to be a landlord $600.

Brown and his girlfriend were trying to find a home together after she moved out of her apartment in Stadium Village on short notice.

Brown found a house on Craigslist and contacted the man who claimed to be the landlord, according to a Minneapolis police report. Brown said man was the only landlord who responded to his messages.

“He acted like it was his house,” Brown said, “We had nowhere to go.”

Brown sent the supposed landlord $600, and the suspect told him keys were on their way.

The next day, the man reassured Brown that the keys were coming but told him he needed an additional $600. Brown and his girlfriend then contacted police.

“It’s a common scam,” said Minneapolis police Sgt. Bill Palmer, and he’s seen similar cases in the past.

“It’s my first time renting,” Brown said. “I just got played.”

Robbery in Marcy-Holmes

A University student was robbed while walking, between bus stops in Marcy-Holmes on Saturday afternoon, according to a Minneapolis police report.

University police Chief Greg Hestness emailed a crime alert to students Monday afternoon. Federal law requires UMPD to send alerts when violent crimes occur near University or student group buildings.

The student noticed she was being followed on 11th Avenue Southeast, the Minneapolis police report said, so she crossed the street and continued walking toward Seventh Street Southeast. The suspect came up behind her, reached into her jacket pocket and took her iPhone and Bose headphones, the report said.

The student pushed his arm away, but the suspect punched her in the face, the report said. The student denied medical attention.

Palmer said he couldn’t comment because police are still investigating.

Theft under Goldy’s watch 

Genetics and cell biology senior Heather Barto’s iPhone was stolen from her backpack while she posed for a picture Friday.

Barto said she set her backpack down to take a group photo with the new Goldy Gopher statue outside of Coffman Union, a University police report said.

As Barto walked away, she realized her phone was missing.

“People started calling it and it went straight to voicemail,” she said.

She couldn’t find the phone near the statue, nothing had been turned in to Coffman and the phone’s tracking device was turned off, Barto said.

Barto said she was surprised that the theft happened right outside of Coffman.

“I don’t know if it’s necessarily an issue of safety; it’s just an issue of people are [expletive] and take things that aren’t theirs,” she said.