Craigslist Murder: Clark Atlanta Student Killed After Responding To Ad For New iPhone 6


A 21-year-old student from Clark Atlanta University was shot dead after responding to an ad on Craigslist for a new iPhone 6.

ABC News reports that James Jones, a junior studying chemistry, responded to an ad in Craigslist to buy the phone on Monday night in Marietta, Georgia, about 20 miles north from his school.

“It was an illegitimate ad he was responding to and he did not know the sellers,” Marietta Police officer David Baldwin told ABC News, adding that the posting appeared to be real. “The ad was posted in the hopes to lure somebody in, but obviously the victim didn’t know that.”

On Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours later, three men were in custody: Jordan Baker, 18, Jonathon Myles, 19, and Kaylnn Ruthenberg, 21. They were charged with felony murder, armed robbery, and aggravated assault and were booked into the Cobb County adult detention center, according to police. A judge at Cobb County Magistrate court denied their bond at their first appearance today. They have not yet entered a plea.

Craigslist murder

“This has to stop,” Officer David Baldwin told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There’s nothing on the internet for sale that’s worth your life.”

Around 9:30 p.m. Monday, a possible car crash was reported on Jamaica Cove, Baldwin said. Officers arrived to find Jones dead behind the wheel of his car.

Jones had responded to a Craigslist ad and was attempting to buy a phone when he was approached by three people, Baldwin said. There was no phone to sell.

“It was set up for them to rob whoever showed up,” Baldwin said.

Remembered as a sharp-dressed man, especially for a college student, it was said to be commonplace for Jones to be seen wearing ties to his Clark Atlanta University classes.

“He always wore suits, trying to look professional,” Terayle Hill, a friend of James told the AJC. “He was ambitious.”

In an email to its students, Clark Atlanta University said of the Daytona Beach, Florida, native and aspiring doctor, “Mr. Jones was a serious scholar and a kind, engaging spirit whose work and comportment spoke well of the University’s core values and those long ago instilled in him by those contributing to his upbringing.”

Jones previously played football at CAU and served as a mentor in local elementary and middle schools.

Just last month, a retired Georgian couple were murdered after responding to a Craigslist ad for a 1966 Mustang.

[Image via ABC]

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