Police: Olivehurst Trio Use Craigslist Ad To Set Up Robbery
GRASS VALLEY (CBS13) - Using a Craigslist ad, an Olivehurst woman and her accomplices set up a bogus date with a 64-year-old Grass Valley man who they robbed, police said on Friday.
Shortly after 8 p.m. on Thursday, Grass Valley Police responded to the parking lot of the Station House n the 1300 block of East Main Street regarding the report of an armed robbery.
Witnesses said three suspects fled in a vehicle. A description of the vehicle was broadcast to area law enforcement and Nevada County sheriff's deputies stopped the vehicle in Penn Valley and the suspects were taken into custody.
The were identified as Debbie Sutton, 32, Ryan Weeks, 25 and a 16- year-old, all of Olivehurst.
The victim said he thought he was on a date with Sutton but realized she had conspired with the other suspects to physically beat and rob him of the cash in his wallet. The man later identified all the suspects and the cash was recovered, police said.
Police said that through their investigation they determined the suspects had originally planned to conduct a home invasion against the victim while he slept; however, decided to rob him by force instead. They say the suspects had published the ad on Craigslist to lure men into a date with Sutton with the intent of robbing them.
"The cooperation of witnesses at the scene and the collaborative efforts of our local law enforcement network led to the successful outcome in this incident and may well have prevented others from becoming victims of this trio," Grass Valley Police Capt. Rex Marks said in a press release announcing the arrests.
The suspects face charges of criminal conspiracy and first-degree robbery.
