NEWS RELEASE: Police arrest teen in Craigslist scheme Howard County police have charged a 17-year-old Ellicott City suspect with robbery and theft in connection with three incidents in which victims were robbed after responding to ads on Craigslist. In the first incident on June 23, a woman responding to a Craigslist ad met an unknown male in the 5300 block of Kerger Road to buy an iPhone 5 from him. The woman pulled out money and the suspect produced an iPhone 5 box from his backpack. As the victim discovered the iPhone box was empty, the suspect pushed her to the ground, grabbed the money and fled. The woman gave chase and was able to grab the suspect’s backpack as he ran off. Inside the backpack was a student identification card, ultimately identifying him. A second incident took place on June 15 in which the same phone number used to arrange the sale of the iPhone 5 was used to broker a trade involving an iPhone 5 for an electronic gaming system. In that incident, the victim, responding to an ad on Craiglist, met with an unknown male to arrange the trade. The male requested to test the gaming system to make sure it worked, resulting in a theft of the system, two controllers, a wireless headset and a backpack. Further investigation led to the 17-year-old suspect, who was arrested in connection with the June 15 and June 23 robberies, as well as an unreported theft on June 12 in which $200 was taken from a victim responding to a Craigslist ad. The 17-year-old suspect was charged as a juvenile with three counts of theft, robbery, second-degree assault, and operating a theft scheme. He is being detained at The Charles Hickey, Jr. School. Howard County police remind citizens to use caution when responding to ads on Craigslist and recommend following these tips: Deal locally with buyers or sellers you can meet in person. Never wire funds via Western Union or any other wire service. Never give out personal or financial information. Pick a public place for your meeting and get there early. Park far enough away that the person will have less of a chance of seeing what car you drive. ###
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 19:30:05 +0000
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