Two Boise men who used Snapchat to develop a relationship with an Eagle teenager before one robbed him last month are charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.
Detectives identified 19-year-old Syrus E. Tomaskovich as the stick-up man and arrested him early Wednesday morning after a traffic stop near Ustick and Mitchell streets in Boise. Deputies found two loaded handguns in Tomaskovich’s car.
Gooding County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested 18-year-old Ervey Tovar earlier Tuesday on an Ada County warrant for conspiracy to commit robbery.
Tomaskovich is being held in the Ada County Jail on a $500,000 bond. Tovar is being held in the Gooding County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
The investigation began May 31 after the teenager contacted Eagle Police and told them he had been robbed at gunpoint near his home the night before.
The teenager said he had developed a friendship with Tovar on Snapchat over a period of months and made arrangements to meet him the night of May 30 so they could drive to California. The teen said he had never met Tovar before that night.
The teen grabbed some cash and some clothes and went outside to meet Tovar.
The teen said he and Tovar walked a short distance before another man, who was holding a gun and wearing a bandana over his face, jumped out from behind a bush and demanded both give up their wallets and cell phones.
The teen said once the robber got those items and ran away Tovar told him to stay put while he went to a nearby house to call police. The teen said Tovar never came back that night — and that he never heard from him again.
Eagle Police began collecting evidence and doing interviews and eventually identified Tomaskovich as the robber and Tovar as his accomplice. Detectives got arrest warrants for both by Tuesday.
Preliminary hearings for both Tomaskovich and Tovar will be set for early July.