Men arrested in Craigslist scam

DOWNTOWN — Three armed robbery suspects who police say posed as buyers on Craigslist.org and then robbed a 20-year-old Glendale man of his Playstation 3 are scheduled to be arraigned today in Glendale Superior Court.

Glendale police arrested Pasadena residents Joshua Brown, 19, and Marcus Carter, 29, and Victorville resident Bishop Jackson, 19, Friday after they allegedly arranged to meet the victim about 5:30 p.m. at a Jack in the Box on Pacific Avenue, near Glenoaks Boulevard, where he showed them the boxed video game console, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

One of the men then held a fake handgun to the back of the victim’s neck and the group took the Playstation 3, then fled in a compact car onto the Ventura (134) Freeway, Lorenz said.

The victim called 911, and police were able to quickly find and arrest the suspects. They recovered the video game console and the Airsoft replica handgun, which is typically used to fire rubber or plastic pellets, Lorenz said.

Police think the three suspects may have been behind at least four other crimes in the Los Angeles area involving Craigslist online marketing postings, Lorenz said.

Detectives are working with the Los Angeles Police Department and other law enforcement agencies to determine the number of other cases the suspects may have been involved in, said Glendale Det. Petros Kmbikyan, the lead investigator on the case.

“Because of the type of crime it is, and the fact that the victim in this case was trying to sell something on Craigslist, there potentially are other victims out there,” Lorenz said.

Police believe the group committed a similar robbery Thursday night but would not disclose the details of the case, as the investigation is ongoing, Kmbikyan said.

The incident highlights the dangers of organizing a monetary exchange with strangers, Lorenz said.

“People that list things on Craigslist, fortunately it’s an easy way to sell things; unfortunately, sometimes you don’t know the people you are dealing with,” he said, adding that users of the website, where visitors can post and respond to classified listings, should be cautious and try to obtain legitimate identification from other parties before meeting to make exchanges with them.

Buyers and sellers should also consider their surroundings when meeting in public, Lorenz said, encouraging residents to consider making exchanges in front of the police station, among other places.

“You would think that [meeting] at Jack in the Box would be fairly safe because there’s a lot of people around, but in this particular case, they were able to get him in the parking lot and at a time when no one was watching or coming by, so you’ve just got to be careful,” he said.

Undercover detectives arrested a Glendale couple Nov. 4 after they allegedly used Craigslist to scam prospective apartment renters out of deposits. Police also arrested two women Nov. 18 on suspicion of prostitution after they both posted ads on the popular website.

Anyone with additional information or who has been affected by similar crimes should call police at (818) 548-3987.

 ZAIN SHAUK covers education. He may be reached at (818) 637-3238 or by e-mail at zain.shauk@latimes.com.