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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Victim helps cops nab alleged Craigslist robber

Who that knew meeting a stranger from the Internet in person could be so dangerous?
A 51-year-old man from New Hope might have muttered that very question when he was maced and robbed in West Philadelphia on June 18 by a guy who offered to buy the victim’s jewelry on Craigslist, police said.
The tale of e-commerce gone wrong goes something like this:
A few months ago, the victim turned to Craigslist to sell a $14,500 diamond ring.
He found a potential buyer in a guy who identified himself as Mike Farson. “Mike” said that he was from Maryland, cops said.
The seller suggested that he and “Mike” make their transaction at 30th Street Station.
“He thought he was being careful and had control of the situation by arranging the meeting in a public space,” said Capt. Benjamin Naish, of Southwest Detectives.
The deal took a twist when the two men met at 30th Street Station. “Mike” said that he needed to pick up his money someplace else.
He convinced the seller to drive him to a rowhouse on St. Bernard Street near Spruce, in West Philadelphia, Naish said.
“Mike” — who was later identified as Corey Jackson, 22 — made a show of talking on his cell phone before finally agreeing to finish the transaction.
The seller pulled out the ring, and Jackson promptly sprayed him in the face with pepper spray, grabbed the ring and took off, Naish said.
But instead of playing the role of a helpless victim, the seller decided to strike back.
He placed phony ads on Craigslist, hoping to lure Jackson into a trap, Naish said. The ruse worked.
Jackson agreed to meet the seller at a parking lot at 47th Street and City Avenue at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Both men showed up — and so did police. Jackson, of Olive Street near 49th, was charged with robbery and aggravated assault.
Naish said that investigators believe that he might have been involved in similar robberies that were set up through Craigslist in Bethlehem and other areas.
“I think this case really illustrates how creative some criminals are getting,” he said. “People have to be more careful."
Posted by David Gambacorta @ 11:02 PM  Permalink | 3 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:18 PM, 09/09/2009
    Always transact in public, and always be prepared to walk away when someone does something like that, or sells you photocopied tickets, or what-have-you. If it seems like a scam, it's a scam.
    — Bake McBride
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:20 PM, 09/09/2009
    Seller needs to go to prison for being a friggin' idiot. "Hey, lets tell a stranger I'm gonna have $14,000 at this precise time, on that precise date!". Anyway, the seller's probably committing some crime in all this...trying to collect insurance money or something. Send 'em BOTH to jail. But I'm probably wrong, so just kidding.
    — rich_gelman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:53 PM, 09/09/2009
    I am sure we paid for his computer training,gave him free internet and probably a low cost or a free computer and this is how he repay's society...Now we will have to pay for his 3 meals a day and all utilities. He will probably be out in 6 months or less so he can start all over again with a different scam.
    — legal_loansharking


3 comments
About The PhillyConfidential team

Dana DiFilippo has covered murder, mayhem and miscellany at the Daily News since 2000. She grew up in Delaware County and studied journalism and photography at Penn State University. E-mail tips to difilid@phillynews.com.

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Stephanie Farr has been reporting for the Daily News since 2007, covering everything from gay porn stars who entered the burglary business to moon trees, skinheads, murders and naked bike rides. She covers crime, both in the city and suburbs, and keeps clippings of bizarre Associated Press articles. Her favorite this year was the story about the drunk in Punxsutawney who gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dead opossum. E-mail tips to farrs@phillynews.com.

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Phillip Lucas joined the Daily News crime team in 2011. He grew up on the mean streets of Seattle and studied journalism and psychology at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Before landing in the City of Brotherly Love, Phillip was a reporter for The News Journal in Wilmington, Del. Email tips to lucasp@phillynews.com.

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Morgan Zalot is the newest crime reporter at the Daily News, starting in 2011 after interning at the paper twice as a Temple University journalism student. In her past stints at the DN, she covered just about everything, from drunken Phillies fans to a barber shop in a high school to a grisly murder-suicide. She’s a born-and-raised Philly girl who grew up in the Northeast. E-mail tips to zalotm@philly.com.

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