Victim Turns Tables On Craigslist Thieves
CARPENTERSVILLE, Ill. (CBS) -- Two men are accused of robbing people of the items they are selling on Craigslist, then going back to the Web site to resell the items themselves.
They were caught when one of their alleged victims turned the tables.
Jonathan D. Miller, 18, and Myshawn L. Bonds, 19, both of Carpentersville, are each charged with theft.
In the first incident, a Skokie man met with Miller and Bonds at 2 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of Dundee-Crown High School. The man was going to sell them a $8,000 Roger Dubuis watch he had been advertising on Craigslist, Carpentersville police Cmdr. Tim Bosshart said.
But when the man showed up, the suspects grabbed the watch and ran off toward an apartment building nearby, Bosshart said.
Later that afternoon, the victim of the theft logged onto Craigslist to find out if there was an ad for the watch he'd just had stolen. It turned out there was – with the very same accompanying pictures the victim himself had placed on the original Craigslist ad.
Even the photo of the individually-numbered back plate on the watch was included, Bosshart said.
The victim contacted the new seller — who was advertising a new, reduced selling price of $7,000 — and arranged to buy the watch, then contacted Carpentersville police.
The victim and the seller then arranged to meet at a local fast-food restaurant, and when Bonds and Miller showed up they were arrested, police said.
Bonds had the watch on him when he was arrested, police said.
Bonds was later charged with theft of the laptop on Dec. 10. According to Bosshart, a Hoffman Estates man told police he had listed the computer on Craigslist and agreed to meet the buyer at Dundee-Crown High School. When he arrived, a man later identified as Bonds grabbed the computer and ran, police said.
The victim used software loaded onto the computer to find its location and take pictures of where it was, Bosshart said. The information led police to a computer repair shop near Spring Hill Mall, police said.
An employee there told police he bought the computer from Miller for $405. It had listed on Craigslist for $1,650.
Miller's bond was set at $30,000, and Bonds' bond was set at $15,000. Both were given Jan. 9 court dates for preliminary hearings.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
