The Chicago Sun-Times says that three men have been charged with “stealing cash and property at gunpoint from victims thinking they were meeting to buy televisions and other electronics advertised on Craigslist.” The suspects were arrested after police saw “suspicious” postings on Craigslist and contacted the sellers posing as an interested customer.

From the Sun-Times:

“What would happen is the victims would email or call Craigslist, and at that point, a prearranged location was decided upon. The person would say meet me at ‘X’ location and bring $500 bucks with you,” the sergeant said. “They would go to that location and the person robbed them.”

The items advertised were often electronics, including televisions, the sergeant said.

There was apparently something of a Craigslist crimewave going on in Chicago. Two of the three men were allegedly working together, while the third was operating on his own in a different neighborhood.

The officers posing as customers arrived at the meeting location and the suspect, who fit the description of the lone suspect who robbed the other victims, was arrested. Police also recovered a .32 caliber revolver used during the robberies, the sergeant said.

Whoopsies!

Cops posing as ‘customers’ nab three in Craigslist crime wave [Sun-Times] (Thanks, Kent!)

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