WEST COVINA >> After two men were robbed in West Covina in separate incidents over the past two weeks while responding to Craigslist ads for computers, police are seeking an potential additional victims of similar crimes, authorities said Wednesday.
The robberies, believed to have been carried out by the same perpetrator, both occurred after the victims agreed to meet the purported seller at residential carports in West Covina, West Covina police spokesman Rudy Lopez said.
“We’re confident they’re connected,” Lopez said.
The first crime took place in the late afternoon of Jan. 28 in the 1800 block of East Grovecenter Street, Lopez said. The second unfolded mid-afternoon Feb. 1 in the 2400 block of S. Ridgewood Drive.
In the first robbery, a 44-year-old Paramount man had responded to an advertisement regarding a computer on craigslist.com, Lopez said.
“The victim called the posted number and spoke to a male who directed him to meet in the (Grovecenter Street) carport,” Lopez said. “When the victim arrived, the suspect displayed a handgun in his waistband and demanded the money. The loss was over $700.”
The Ridgewood Drive robbery took place four days later when a 35-year-old Hacienda Heights man responded to a similar Craigslist advertisement for a computer, police said. Though worded differently, the adds offered to sell similar computers.
The victim arrived to meet the seller, who gestured as if he had a gun in his waistband, Lt. Dennis Patton said.
The demanded the victim’s cash and fled with more than $700.
Police have described the robber as a Latino man in his mid-30s with short hair.
In addition to tips on avoiding scams primarily perpetrated through non-face-to-face transactions, craigslist.com provides personal safety tips when dealing with people in person through the website.
“The overwhelming majority of craigslist users are trustworthy and well-intentioned,” according to the statement. “With billions of human interactions facilitated, the incidence of violent crime is extremely low. Nevertheless, please take the same common sense precautions online as you would offline.”
Safety tips for in-person transactions include insisting on meeting in a public place, such as a cafe; never meeting in a secluded place or inviting strangers to a home; tell a friend or family member about your plans; take a cell phone if available; consider bringing a friend during the transaction; and trusting your instincts. Users were advised to be extra cautious when dealing with high-value items.
“It is believed that there are additional victims of this kind of robbery that may have occurred in West Covina and in neighboring cities,” Lopez said.
Detectives were eager to speak to anyone who may has been a victim of a similar crime as they continued their investigation, Lopez said. Anyone with information was asked to contact West Covina police at 626-939-8557.