A 24-year-old Vancouver man is facing several charges after robbing a police officer of a cell phone on Friday night.
Following a spate of Craigslist cell phone robberies in Vancouver, police officers posted an ad on the website offering an iPhone for sale on Jan. 5. The next day, police received a response and made plans to meet.
Later that evening, the suspect showed up and met with the undercover police officer, who had the iPhone in a bag. The suspect allegedly hit the officer in her chest, grabbed the bag with the iPhone and ran. He was later located in a nearby home and taken into custody.
Jacob Beck has been charged with three counts of robbery and remains in custody.
Following this incident, police are advising the public to use caution when selling high-value items on sites like Craigslist.
“Scammers and thieves will never know when the person on the other end of an ad is a police officer,” VPD Staff Sgt. Randy Fincham said in a statement.
“Posting an ad to sell fraudulent tickets, or with the intent of committing a robbery or theft, is one way to find a cop on Craigslist.”
Beck’s next court appearance is Jan. 11 at 9:30 a.m.