For nearly 24 hours, a man from Reading texted and talked to Eric S. Ervin about the luxury BMW that Ervin listed for sale on Craigslist and had at his east Allentown auto-detailing business.

Tyrell R. Young agreed to meet Ervin on Tuesday at Aces High Auto Detailing in the 600 block of North Nelson Street, off Hanover Avenue, but showed up hours after their arranged meeting. It was about 6 p.m., around the time businesses in the area were closing, when Young finally arrived.

Young took the silver 2003 BMW 745li with shiny chrome rims and tinted windows for a test drive and then killed Ervin, 41, of Coopersburg, for the car, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said Thursday.

In announcing homicide charges against Young, 27, of Reading, the district attorney said he will likely seek the death penalty because of the aggravating factor that the killing was committed during a robbery.

Martin and Allentown police Chief Joel Fitzgerald Sr. praised the police work and communication by Allentown and Reading police, leading to an arrest about eight hours after Ervin's body was discovered.

"This was truly fine police work," Martin said at a news conference.

Young first made contact with Ervin on Monday and arranged to stop by the east Allentown business Tuesday to look at the car, Martin said. Ervin detailed the car and parked it outside for display before the arranged 3 p.m. meeting, he said.

Martin said he doesn't know if Young ever planned on buying the car or if he planned on stealing it all along. He also didn't know if there was a struggle, leading to the shooting.

Ervin was shot in the neck and his body was found in a work trailer parked on the property with a shell casing nearby, Martin said. Police never received a report of shots fired because the crime likely happened after work hours, he said, sometime between 6:45 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.

According to a criminal complaint:

After Ervin failed to come home, Ervin's girlfriend phoned Allentown police and reported him missing, asking if they could check on him at Aces High.

Allentown police officers responded there at 1:09 a.m. Wednesday and found Ervin's body in the trailer.

Allentown police learned from Ervin's girlfriend that Ervin had been meeting someone with a 347 area code phone number who was interested in buying the BMW he had listed on Craigslist. When police found Ervin, the car was gone.

Police immediately gathered phone records from Ervin's two cellphones and found that he had been communicating with someone for 24 hours and that person had a phone number with a 347 area code. Police tracked the phone to the 100 block of South Fourth Street in Reading.

Reading police were dispatched to the area at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, found the BMW and stopped it, finding Young behind the wheel. An officer at the scene spotted a gun in plain view. That gun had been reported stolen three months ago in Cumru Township, Berks County.

Young was arrested on a parole violation and was charged in Berks County with receiving stolen property and two weapons violations. At the same time, Martin labeled him as a "person of interest" in the killing.

Young later admitted to shooting Ervin and taking his car, according to court records.

On Thursday, he was charged in Lehigh County with homicide, robbery of a motor vehicle, theft, receiving stolen property and another weapons violation.

He was arraigned by District Judge Michael D'Amore in Allentown and denied bail.

Young was granted parole in July 2012 for a carjacking seven years earlier in Northampton County.

He pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of an instrument of crime in the March 2005 theft of a $62,000 Cadillac Escalade from Faulkner Chevrolet Cadillac in Hanover Township, according to court records. He was sentenced to seven to 161/2 years in state prison.

According to court records, Young went to the dealership, gave a fake name and told a saleswoman he wanted to test drive the vehicle. She refused because Young didn't produce a valid driver's license. Young then asked the saleswoman if she would drive the sport utility vehicle for the test drive with him as a passenger, and she agreed.

Soon after the ride began, Young pulled a knife and made the saleswoman pull into a grocery store lot and park the SUV. He said he did not intend to hurt her and she got out of the vehicle.

He fled with the SUV and was spotted by state troopers minutes later speeding on Route 33 in Palmer Township. Young tried to elude police, driving up to 100 mph at times. He gave up at the Belfast Road exit, where he pulled over and was taken into custody.

In court, Young revealed he took the vehicle because he had made arrangements to sell it to someone for drug money. He has also served prison time on drug charges in Monroe County.

Ervin opened up the Aces High business on North Nelson Street about two weeks ago, having previously had the business two blocks away on Hanover Avenue and Plymouth Street.

Those who knew Ervin said he had been trying to sell the 2003 BMW 745li for more than a year.

The car, which he claimed was owned by a former member of the Philadelphia Eagles, came fully loaded with a sunroof, 22-inch rims and upgraded headlights. He was initially asking $28,000 for the car before dropping the price to $18,000 in the Craigslist posting.

Fitzgerald warned of the dangers of using Craigslist and advised on how make transactions safer. He said some municipalities have set up safe zones where online sales can take place.

"I would rather people who are doing sales on Craigslist use public places, well-lit places, places like the front of a police station to conduct these transactions," he said. "You never know who's on the opposite side of the keyboard, who's looking to do you harm or remove your property forcibly."

Martin said there is no indication that Young has tried similar Craigslist robberies.

manuel.gamiz@mcall.com

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