A 29-year-old Beltsville man feeling the strain of holiday expenses was lured to Annapolis by a www.Craigslist.com advertisement that promised an American Express gift card at a discounted price.
But he soon learned the deal was too good to be true while forking over his wallet at gunpoint.
Annapolis police arrested one juvenile and are searching for two other armed robbers who used Craigslist to arrange business deals with victims they would later rob.
The Craigslist crooks have targeted three people in the past week, two of them at gunpoint, during recent attacks on Gemini Drive in Annapolis, police said.
The Beltsville man said he arrived Tuesday at the prearranged meeting place to buy a gift card worth $1,000 for a discounted price of $800, when three suspects entered his car, grabbed him by the throat, and robbed him of his wallet and cell phone at gunpoint.
“I was really horrified. I never thought anything like that could happen. I kept thinking, ‘What are they going to do to me next?’ ” said the victim, who spoke to The Examiner on the condition of anonymity, fearing for his safety.
“Now I walk around scared that someone is going to mug me. I’ve lost all trust in Craigslist.”
A Washington, D.C., man arranged to meet a seller Friday night on Gemini Drive to buy two cell phones advertised on Craigslist.
The man’s three young children, including an infant, were asleep in the back seat when the suspects approached his car.
One suspect climbed into the passenger’s seat, pulled a gun and robbed the man of $200 in cash before fleeing, police said.
The incidents, which began Dec. 23, have seemingly stopped since Friday, when police arrested Charles Edward Carroll Jr., 17, of Crofton, and charged him as an adult with armed robbery and assault.
He is being held at the Anne Arundel Detention Center.
“Detectives were able to establish a viable link between the three incidents,” said Jane Schlegel, a spokeswoman for Annapolis police.
“There’s pretty much no question that it’s the same small group involved in the robberies.”
Police are searching for a second suspect, Antonio Emmanuel Queen, 18, who’s last known address is on Seventh Street in Brooklyn Park.
A third suspect has yet to be identified, police said.
Schlegel said Craigslist shoppers should be wary of any deal that seems too good to be true, and any arranged meetings should be conducted during the daytime in public places.
Anyone with information regarding the robberies should call police at 410-268-4141.
