Three Battle Ground teens charged in Craigslist robbery case
BATTLE GROUND, Wash. -- Three teenagers from Battle Ground are facing robbery charges after police said they robbed a man they contacted on Craigslist who wanted to sell a video game console.
Outon Bountham, 18, Christopher Winterroth, 19 and a 16-year-old boy have all been charged with first- and third-degree robbery.
The charges stem from an Oct. 7 incident when the victim and the three teens agreed to meet in the parking lot of Maple Grove School in Battle Ground, a police spokeswoman said.
The victim of the robbery had posted a Craigslist ad to sell a video game console and accessories and agreed to meet with what was thought to be the buyer in the school parking lot.
Police said the three teens approached the victim and stole the gaming console and accessories. Investigators also said they think the teens used a handgun during the robbery.
The case has been forwarded to the Clark County Prosecutor's Office and follow-up investigation continues. Anyone with additional information on the case should call Det. Joshua Phelps at 360-342-5242.
First rule of Craiglist is never go to meet someone alone. Â I also like to meet in bank parking lots....because banks have cameras. Â Lots of cameras. Â
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Simple stuff....be safe out there, folks.
And the seller met with them in a school parking lot?!???? When it's suggested to meet in a public place, I doubt they were talking about a school parking lot on a SUNDAY!!! When I have to meet someone about an item I'm selling, it's always in the library, cafe, someplace where people are all the time. And then I never go alone. This is too bad, but he should have been more careful.
Lol, these guys thew it all away for... video games.
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xD fail!
hang em high. throw the book at them hard, for each valid offense.
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this should be a lesson to them to raise their kids right. perhaps if their parents actually held them accountable for their usual boyhood issues, they'd have better boundaries and exercise better judgement. when kids screw up, they need to be held responsible or they will have little concern about being a citizen of the community.
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I wonder if the POS judge is going to let them off like he did with the shooters of hundreds of animals in the county some months back. I certainly hope not.
This is exactly why, when I do any buying or selling on craigslist, I take at least one other person with me. You can never be too careful when meeting up with strangers now days, especially ones from craigslist.
gotta love craigslist
 @LostSoul Yes and no. I've sold stuff on Craigslist before with no problems. It's all about taking precautions when you do sell stuff.
@scoreboard I fully agree. I use craigslist all the time. my only complaint using it so far has been all the flakes and dreamers. If I am listing any of my car parts(honda performance), I will only meet people. I never let them come to my house.
All three of them by their actions were prepared to rob the seller. All three of them need to be responsible for their actions. All three of them need to go behind bars for awhile. If they had used a handgun on the wrong type of seller, they might have had some fast flying lead objects headed their way.
No excuse for them at al.
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Giving Craig's List folks a bad name. Thankfully, he met the suspects at a public place. I would never advertise my home address to sell anything, anywhere, at any time, for any price.
 @jpk Thanks for the tip...never sold anything on C-list...but if I do, I'll even go as far as mentioning to the buyer - the transaction takes place where there are surveillance cameras in the area...should weed out the undesirables. Hidden cams are fairly cheap and might be a good investment if there are no street cams around.
When I have done craigslist transactions, it has mostly been in a store parking lot during the day, or in front of a honda shop, or auto parts store. Sometimes it has been at the persons house...to load bricks etc. As much as possible in public. And mention it or the other person mentions in public
Mainly you need to be careful and use common sense at times.
Good luck if you do have any transactions