The ruse was almost always the same.
Following conversations on telephone chat lines advertised in print classified ads, local men would respond, time and time again, to a house in the 3000 block of Logan Avenue N. in Minneapolis to meet "Amber," "Terri" or other women who said they didn't want to spend their birthdays alone.
At the door, those men -- eight victims in all since 2001 -- were met not by a woman seeking romance or sex with them, but by one who then trapped them inside the house and demanded cash, an ATM card, a personal identification number and other possessions, police said. Her male partner would hold them captive inside the house, sometimes beating them.
Now Shanita Deanne Cannon, 38, and Carl Maurice Townsend, 40, each face 10 felony charges of aggravated robbery and false imprisonment. As part of their alleged scheme, Cannon would take the victim's car to an ATM and use his card to remove cash while Townsend held the victim captive until she returned.
The couple was charged this week in Hennepin County District Court in documents that allege that they committed a string of such robberies.
After Cannon would invite the men in, promising that the woman they wanted to see was inside, she then would demand money for pizza or other food she had ordered. Townsend then would enter the room and use a wooden board, knife or gun to threaten the victim, and release him on Cannon's return with a threat against his life if he called police.
Charges followed the most recent incident March 28, in which an unidentified man went to the address believing he would meet up with a 20-year-old college student.
During the robbery that followed, Townsend allegedly kicked him in the knee, breaking his leg. He was treated at Hennepin County Medical Center, where he identified Townsend and Cannon from a photo lineup.
