San Jose State University player faces life in prison for Craigslist robberies

By Jason Bennert, Bay City News Service

August 1, 2006

SAN JOSE (BCN) - A suspended San Jose State University football player faces a possible life sentence if convicted of a series of June robberies involving the Craigslist Web site, the case's prosecutor said today.

Ellis T. Jones III is charged with 13 felony counts, including robbery, kidnapping and assault, in connection with four June robberies in which he allegedly used classified ads on Craigslist to lure his victims.

"It all occurred within three or four days,'' Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney James Leonard said.

According to authorities, on June 27 Jones posted an ad on Craigslist pretending he was selling a laptop computer. He arranged to meet a prospective buyer and then incapacitated him with a Taser and robbed him.

The three other robberies all happened on June 30, according to authorities. Jones allegedly used a Taser in two of them and threatened a man with a gun in the third.

Jones used Craigslist ads to lure his victims in three of the ads and responded to an ad in the other robbery. He concentrated on one area of Craigslist, Leonard said.

"It was all electronic type items or purchases,'' Leonard said.

Jones is currently in custody in Tulare County on unrelated charges. His arraignment date in Santa Clara County has not been set.

Jones, 20, was a three-sport star at Hoover High School in San Diego where he was named the football team's Most Valuable Player in 2003. He red-shirted at SJSU during the 2004 season and played in three early season games last year, according to the SJSU football website.

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