Craigslist robbery suspect taken into custody

UPDATE: Sgt. Jason Hill with Irondale Police says armed robbery suspect Terrance Duntae McGinnis (AKA "Mike Mike") has been arrested. He will be charged with first degree robbery and could face more charges.

McGinnis' grandmother saw the story on Good Day Alabama and called Birmingham Police. Bham Police picked up McGinnis and took him to the north precinct. Irondale Police collected him from the north precinct.

ORIGINAL STORY:An armed robbery suspect is on the loose and Irondale police believe he found his victim through the website Craigslist.

Officers believe the suspect to be Terrance Duntae McGinnis. He also goes by the nickname "Mike Mike." Irondale police say he lives in Center Point.

Surveillance video at a hotel on Crestwood Boulevard in Irondale captured the armed robbery. It shows the suspect walk up to the victim's car and open the door. He immediately pulls a gun out of his pocket and demands money from the victim. As soon as the victim gives him the cash, he runs away, dropping some of the cash as he flees.

In the video, the victim gets out of the car, visibly shaken from having a gun shoved in his face. He picks up a few twenties the suspect dropped as he was running away then calls police.

"This victim thought he was doing everything right. Wasn't meeting late at night. Wasn't meeting in private and actually planned to meet at a location that would be good visibility from other bystanders and business owners," said Sergeant Jason Hill with Irondale PD.

Sergeant Hill says going to a public place is not enough.

"Specifically go to a courthouse, a police department, your local police department or go to the sheriff's department," said Hill.

Hill says they are seeing more cases like this where two people meet online and set up a transaction. He says in this case, the victim did two things right. First, he got a good description of the suspect.

"The suspect is a black male 6'0"-6'1", 175-180 pounds with reddish hair. It could be he has a reddish tint or has colored his hair," said Hill.

The victim also took a screen shot of the Craigslist ad, which has helped police in their investigation and led them to identify the suspect.

Police say they hope to arrest McGinnis today and charge him with first degree robbery.

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