Police in Toronto have nabbed a fugitive who fled a small community in the southern U.S. after failing to appear in court to face armed robbery charges.
Mohamed Caser, 19, is awaiting extradition to DeKalb County, Georgia, just northeast of Atlanta, where he was wanted after missing his Dec. 14 court date regarding a string of robberies that happened in March 2009.
According to police records on one of the incidents, the young man posted an ad on Craigslist for the sale of an iPhone and met a man at a highway intersection in the area to trade the phone for cash.
When the man arrived, Mr. Caser allegedly pulled a silver handgun and made off with the cash and the iPhone, said Jason Gagnon, a public information officer with DeKalb County Police.
Police issued two warrants for the Toronto man's arrest in April, Mr. Gagnon said. Mr. Caser was jailed but received a $55,000 (U.S.) bond in August and was released from jail Oct. 1, 2009.
Mr. Gagnon blamed heavy backlogs in the county's justice system for the delayed court date.
Toronto police say Mr. Caser fled to Canada "in an attempt to elude justice."
He remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in a Toronto court on Tuesday.