MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An elderly Frayser man is learning that no good deed goes unpunished. The 73 year old, who didn’t want to be identified, wound up framed for a theft that never happened.
Police said 19-year-old Kevieon Abram told them his iPhone had been taken while he was playing basketball at Pickett Park on February 27. They say he told them he used his phone’s tracking software to locate it at an Eco ATM machine inside a Frayser Kroger.
When Eco ATM checked their records, they found the phone had been sold by the 73-year-old, or so it seemed. Police brought him in for questioning Monday, and he told them a different story, which he repeated for WREG.
He said he’s acquainted with Abram’s grandmother. So when Abram asked him for a ride to Kroger to sell the phone, he thought nothing of it. Since Abram said he didn’t have an ID, the man said he allowed Abram to use his driver’s license to sell the iPhone to the Eco ATM.
For his troubles, he told WREG that Abram gave him $3.
“I have not heard of this type of case before, but it’s not surprising,” said Olliette Murry-Drobot, who oversees the Coordinated Response to Elder Abuse program at the Family Safety Center.
Murry-Drobot said the elderly are generally seen as easy target and growing number of people who victimize them are looking for a payday.
“About 23 percent of the cases that we see involve financial abuse,” she said.
Police detained Abram Monday when he went to pick up his phone and he admitted to making up the theft. Instead, he told police he had sold his phone at the Eco ATM for $90.
Abram is charged with false offense report. He bonded out of jail late Tuesday.
