Craigslist user shot after canceling call girl

Charges are filed after a February incident that began with a visit to the well-known advertising site.

By JIM ADAMS, Star Tribune

Last update: April 8, 2008 - 8:05 PM

A Coon Rapids man got a violent surprise when he tried to cancel an erotic call-girl service that he found on Craigs- list.

After making the phone call for the service, Jeff VanDyke had second thoughts and tried to cancel but the person who answered said the service was "almost there."

Then a young woman came to his house and he told her that he wanted to cancel. She looked sideways, and a man came to the storm door. When VanDyke wouldn't open it, the man shot him in the jaw through the door, court charges said.

The alleged gunman, Brock A. Franklin, 22, was charged Monday in Anoka County District Court with abetting attempted first-degree murder. The woman involved was arrested and booked on abetting attempted murder, officials said.

According to the charges:

VanDyke, 42, blacked out after being shot about 6 a.m. on Feb. 15 but later called police. He told them he had called a number he found in a Craigslist erotic services advertisement on the Internet about 5 a.m. that day. He was shot seconds after she arrived at his home in the 11100 block of Drake Street NW.

Police traced VanDyke's cell phone calls to Franklin, whom VanDyke picked out of a photo lineup as a likely suspect.

Franklin told police that two other men, who planned to rob VanDyke, went with him and the call girl to VanDyke's house. He claimed his job was to keep watch on the street. He said he heard a "noise" and then the girl came to him with blood on her. They left the two men behind, he said.

The Sheriff's Office wouldn't say whether authorities think anyone else was involved but said the investigation continues.

In October, Katherine Ann Olson was killed after responding to a Craigslist ad for a babysitter. A Savage man faces first-degree murder charges in that case.

A Craigslist spokeswoman said Tuesday that illegal use of the Internet ad service is absolutely unacceptable. "We are horrified that a crime of violence is in any way associated with abuse of Craigslist," Susan MacTavish said in an e-mail.

She said recently implemented screening procedures for erotic services have reduced the volume of such ads by up to 80 percent.

"Craigslist is an unwise choice of venue for committing crimes, since perpetrators inevitably leave an electronic trail to themselves that law enforcement officers can follow," MacTavish said in the e-mail.

Jim Adams • 612-673-7658

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