A robber responded to a Craiglist ad in the hopes of finding his next victim—but he wound up getting far more than he bargained for.

After a number of Craigslist cellphone robberies transpired on Vancouver's South Slope, Vancouver police took action by posting an ad on Craigslist which listed an iPhone for sale on January 5.

On January 6, a man responded to the posting, and made plans to meet with the person who posted the ad.

That evening, the suspect showed up at the prearranged location and met with someone who was actually an undercover police officer and who brought along the iPhone. When the suspect approached the officer, he hit her in the chest, grabbed her bag with the iPhone in it, and ran away.

Police located the suspect in a nearby home shortly thereafter and he was taken into custody without incident.

A 24-year-old Vancouver man, Jacob Beck, has been charged with three counts of robbery. He will remain in custody until his next court appearance on Wednesday (January 11) at 9:30 a.m.

Police advise anyone selling high-value items on resale sites like Craigslist to take precautions such as:

• arrange to meet in a public place, or even in or near public areas around police stations for high-risk items

• bring along another person

• don't invite strangers into your home

Anyone with information about the recent Craigslist robberies is asked to call 604-717-0613.