Crazy Story along with a Craigslist Advisory

[The Captain]

So I'm driving home from work today and get a phone call from my brother. The first things out of his mouth are "You won't believe what happened today." I admit that I probably won't and he begins telling me a story.

One of his friends and a highschool classmate of mine decided to sell his dirtbike on craigslist. He finds a buyer in Camden and they decide to meet up at a Giant Foodstore to do the exchange. Being that this guy is a little smaller, he brought along 3 friends, two of whom are jacked and down right scary. (the one dudes name is spike...enough said)

So they meet this guy and start talking. The guy mentions that he lives right down the road so they all decide to meet there to finish the transaction. They pull into an alley off of the road and all get out to talk some more. Mind you, the buyer is only himself and one other guy.

They buyer asks to try the dirt bike out so that he knows it works and my brothers friend says that he doesn't take the bike off the truck until money is in his hands. The guy says his dad has the money and when he gets home, he'll give it to him.

At this point the second guy says he's going to go around the corner to the store while they wait for the guy's dad. The guy leaves and then about 2 minutes later comes running down the alley with 3 other guys with guns saying that they need to get on the ground.

At this point Spike says he's not going anywhere (stupid move by him) and the lead gun holder pistol whips him in the face, knocking him unconscious. The other guys get on the ground and lay there while the thieves try to unstrap the dirtbike. One of the guys trys to look up at the criminals to get a description of them, and then he too gets kicked in the face, breaking his nose.

The thieves finally get the bike off the truck and one of them take off on it. Then they take my brother's friends' wallets, cell phones, and keys and try to steal the truck, but the truck was stick so they just ditched it and left.

Spike has a huge gash in his face and like i said, the other friend has a broken nose.

Moral of the story: ALWAYS meet in bright lit, populated places. These guys thought they were being smart by bringing multiple people, but it didn't help them.

Cliffs:
Brother's Friend trys to sell dirtbike on craigslist
Brings big friends
Gets robbed
Loses his money, dirtbike and cell phones
Biggest of all friends gets knocked unconscious.
Thieves get away.

[Scapegoat]

wait... so there was a third party involved that stole everything?

[The Captain]

no, the buyer was with another guy the whole time. That guy left and got more people, but the buyer himself was in on it.

I probably should have given the people names because so many pronouns can get confusing.

[dragonfly2k3]

the real problem here is that the deal went down in new jersey.

[polarexpress17]

Originally Posted by dragonfly2k3

the real problem here is that the deal went down in new jersey.

rofl, in an alley no less. common sense people!

sucks about his deal though, next time bring bigger guns aka rocket launcher

[dragonfly2k3]

for real, im getting a ccw when i turn 21. You cant trust anyone anymore. Ive always met people by myself off craigslist, and I can now see that that was stupid.

[The Captain]

Originally Posted by dragonfly2k3

for real, im getting a ccw when i turn 21. You cant trust anyone anymore. Ive always met people by myself off craigslist, and I can now see that that was stupid.

Spike has his ccw...but can't carry a weapon across state lines.

[lownslow95]

This is a good example of why I don't trust craigs list.

[malloyboy1]

anyone from PA who has a carry licence cant take it out of PA

sorry to hear about that, what a s**tty night for them

not to thread jack but i found a set of 18" ssr wheels in camden from craigslist for a great price but didnt get them becasue they were in camden the crime capitol of america and plus cuz i hate jersey

[russiankid]

I always go along with my dad during the day and always meet in a big parking lot of a shopping complex.

[bmatyeah]

Originally Posted by malloyboy1

not to thread jack but i found a set of 18" ssr wheels in camden from craigslist for a great price but didnt get them becasue they were in camden the crime capitol of america and plus cuz i hate jersey

bet those were stolen anyway!

[dragonfly2k3]

Dont worry i wont ever leave PA, or atleast I wont ever go to jersey. **** NJ. im going there in august for the e-town subaru/mitsu event, but only with a group of like 20 friends.

[igo4bmx]

Originally Posted by dragonfly2k3

for real, im getting a ccw when i turn 21. You cant trust anyone anymore. Ive always met people by myself off craigslist, and I can now see that that was stupid.

would it help u in this scenario? your gun vs 2 or 3 guns?

[dragonfly2k3]

it may, it may not. They were obviously not too happy on the trigger. The best you could do is shoot the one who seems most likely to shoot you, and hope the other flee, or keep your mouth shut and watch your bike go away. I hate to be "that guy" but what color were the thieves?

[TGilb2007]

Wow... that is seriously messed up, but at least everyone walked away.

I have never purchased anything from CL, but if it was something that I really wanted, I would make sure that we would be meeting in well known, populated places. That, and have a friend or two of my own.


Then again, someone pulls a gun on me, they can take w/e they want. I can get new stuff, but I really cannot get a new me.

[Eclipse GSX 61]

That sucks. You can find some necessary stuff on Craigslist but it is also home of the sketchiest people.

[Proven]

Right from the get go I knew it was a scam / robbery. I had someone say the same thing to me when i was trying to sell a bike "we can meet in the parking lot behind home depot so I can test ride it first". I said nope, I have no prob. coming straight to your house. Dude said he had to call me back... never did.

It also happen to a friend of mine (I met after the fact). He met up with 2 guys, one in a car (who stayed there) and the dude "buying" the bike. My buddy let dude test ride it and as soon as dude took off on the bike so did the car.

You can trust craigslist but never trust a situation like that!!

If they HAVE to meet you somewhere make it a police station parking lot.

[den9]

reading this makes me angry, he broke like ten rules, if u want to meet, meet in a pretty public area, if they live in jersey tell them to meet u in pa or gtfo.

another classic example of why gun laws suck, only the non law abiding dickheads will have guns leaving the innocent helpless and unarmed.

u can tell right away it was gonna be shady, come down the street to my house, ur in an alley, my dad has the money, i would of took off as soon as the one guy left to get the money. does this guy have an email address or phone number, did anyone call the cops?

[Menacing_Gc8]

yeah really.. Email , Address, Phone #, Anything you can give, .. and I wouldnt have met up in an alley, a hidden spot or anywhere there isnt an obscene amount of traffic for this very reason. Glad nobody is dead or seriously injured.

[ASIAN JUL]

Wow, sorry to hear about your brother's friends getting whooped. That really stinks, and is really scary. I've sold lots of stuff of of Craigslist and bought a few things - I always describe strict details in the e-mail exchanges and I tell them if anything goes off schedule/not the original plan, the deal is over. I've always met the people in busy, well-lit locations like shopping center parking lots during the afternoon or a busy city block. Never my house, never their house, always public in view of a lot of people and potential witnesses. I also carry a knife with me 99% of the time but guns > knives in most situations, if not all.