The popular online classified ad board Craigslist is useful for selling, buying, dating, networking -- you name it. Personally, I've sold a car, bought a computer, found a new home for a rooster and landed freelance work using the popular site.
But Internet-savvy, 20-year-old Chicago resident Dwayne Williams (Tribune) allegedly found another use: Luring unsuspecting victims to a dark alley to be robbed at gunpoint after responding to ads for televisions and other merchandise.
It's quite brilliant, if you think about it. The perpetrator of such a crime would know how much money the would-be customers had with them, since they arrive at the scene to buy something for a given price, and Craigslist transactions nearly always involve cash.
Calumet Area detectives noticed a spike of robberies in the area and answered an ad placed by Williams for a television. As they approached Williams, police say, he pulled a gun before they identified themselves. Williams tried to flee but was arrested.
Now he faces charges of armed robbery, aggravated robbery and weapons violations, punishable by four to 15 years in prison. Perhaps there's not much an Illinois criminal defense attorney can do but ask for leniancy if it's Williams' first offense.
Quite a few enterprising criminals have used Craigslist to commit armed robbery. A 20-year-old Irving, Texas man (Dallas Morning News) was charged with doing nearly the exact same thing in July when he allegedly robbed unsuspecting victims who thought they were buying something from him. He went one step further, though, by also posing as a buyer and robbing people of their merchandise.
And like Williams, the Texas robber was charged for aggravated robbery, which means the robbery was committed with the threat of force.
Kind of gives new meaning to the phrase "buyer beware."
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Aggravated Robbery (Illinois criminal statute)
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Robbery, explained (FindLaw)
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Opinion piece about Craigslist and crime (CBS News)
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