- This guy sure has some nerve.
So, how did you two meet? Oh, he held a gun to my head and told me to add him as a Facebook friend!
In a bizarre turn of events, an armed robbery of an Indiana woman turned into a dating request on social media.
Returning home from work in early May, Amber Beraun from Indianapolis was held at gunpoint as the mugger demanded money from her. But the robber, Damien Boyce, was so smitten with Beraun that he also ordered her to send him a friend request on Facebook.
With no other option, that’s what she did. Boyce later accepted the request and began sending Beraun messages.
Among other things, he said he’d pay her back for what he took since she was “too pretty to rob.”
Did his advances spiral into the greatest love story of our time?
Well, no. Boyce has now been arrested for several robberies — and for shooting two people. Beraun, on her part, is now questioning the safety of her own home.
Fellas, if you’re looking for dating advice, this is not how to do it.
Friend Request at Gunpoint
On May 8, Beraun was on her way home at around 4 a.m. She stopped briefly to check her mailbox, when an unknown man walked up to her.
He then proceeded to pull out a gun.
“He took [the gun] out of his pocket to show me what was going on — let me into your house,” Beraun told WRTV.
“I did not do that.”
Beraun told the robber, that she didn’t keep any cash in her home. However, she had some money in her car and she offered to hand that over to him to defuse the situation.
From her car, Beraun fetched about $100. She handed them to the mugger, but he wasn’t done yet.
The robber introduced himself as Boyce and asked whether Beraun had a boyfriend. Then, still holding her at gunpoint, he told her to send him a friend request on Facebook.
“I thought if maybe I added him on Facebook, he would leave and he did,” Beraun said.
After confirming he’d received Beraun’s friend request, Boyce fled the scene on a bicycle.
‘F***ed Up Way to Meet’
That wasn’t the last Beraun heard of Boyce, though. Later in the day, he graciously accepted her friend request.
Then he began messaging her.
According to court documents, Boyce seemed to regret robbing Beraun, at least to a point. But that was only because of her looks.
“Look just know imma pay you back ok,” Boyce wrote, according to court files. As you may see, we’ve left his message (mostly) unedited.
“It’s a f***ed up way to meet but d*** you wass to pretty to rob.”
We have a real Casanova on our hands, here.
Beraun also responded to the messages. You might think that’s foolish, but look at it from her perspective.
This was an armed, unpredictable man who now knew where Beraun lived. Perhaps by playing along, she could keep him from doing anything drastic until somebody arrested him.
“I believe you man. I can tell you’re sweet. Times just get rough, I know that,” she wrote back.
In return, Boyce asked Beraun if she’d like to “come chill” sometime. Well, that request will never be fulfilled.
‘He Took Away My Sense of Safety’
In mid-June, Boyce’s plans to date Beraun ran into a small obstacle. He got arrested and charged for a separate robbery that turned much uglier than Beraun’s mugging.
According to KETV, Boyce shot two people and pummeled somebody else over the head with a brick. He was charged with robbery resulting in bodily injury and battery by means of a deadly weapon — among other things.
Beraun may have dodged a literal bullet here.
For robbing Beraun, Boyce got charged with armed robbery and carrying a handgun as a felon. He’s being held on a $7,500 bond.
While she probably won’t have to worry about Boyce bothering her again, Beraun is still dealing with the aftermath of the mugging. In addition to the $100, Boyce managed to rob her of her sense of security.
“It makes me a little on edge knowing that people walk up and down the street, looking for places to commit crimes. Especially as a young female, it’s something you always think about but never think it will happen to you,” said Beraun.
“He really tried to rob me of my own things, but he took away my sense of safety from my own home.”
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