Selling Jewelry, Watches & Diamonds

Craigslist Crimes-Nationwide Manhunt

TACOMA, Wash. — A nationwide manhunt is under way for the fourth suspect in a home-invasion robbery and killing related to a Craigslist ad.

43-year-old Jim Sanders was the victim who was fatally shot during a robbery in his home in Edgewood Washington home on April 28 while his family was bound and beaten.

Police identified the suspect as 23-year-old Clabon Berniard from SeaTac.

Berniard moved to Washington from New Orleans in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, and police said he has strong ties to Louisiana, where investigators are likely working with police. Law enforcement is also looking at a list of the man’s relatives.

Berniard has a history of crimes, most of which were committed in King County. Records show he was last in the county jail for investigation of drug possession in March, and on separate occasions between 2005 and 2009, he was convicted of robbery, burglary and theft.

Berniard is described as African American, 5 feet 11 inches tall, 200 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He is known to frequent Seattle, Kent and SeaTac, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Ed Troyer said. Police said he is known by the street name “G.”

“He knows we’re looking for him. We did a couple of operations (Wednesday), we weren’t able to locate him, so now we’re asking for the public’s help to try to get this guy caught,” said Troyer.

The fugitive is now charged with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and second-degree assault, the same charges filed on three other suspects accused in the slaying.

The three other suspects, already in police custody, are 21-year-old Amanda Knight, 22-year-old Kiyoshi Higashi and 20-year-old Joshua Reese. A tearful Knight appeared in Pierce County court Wednesday. She pleaded not guilty to those charges as well as another series of charges including first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and one count of second-degree burglary.

In a strange twist, three years ago Berniard and his sister were given a “Citizen Life Saving” award for pulling two people out of a burning building in the Skyway area. At that time, fire victim Cherry Gray called Berniard “her angel” for pulling her out of that building.

Higashi and Reese remain in Redwood City, Calif. after they were arrested, along with Knight, in Daly City on unrelated charges. Knight bailed out, but turned herself in to police in Sumner Tuesday night.

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Jeff Dubois that the two men will be transferred to Washington before May 20, but wouldn’t provide a specific date “for security reasons.”

Troyer told KIRO 7 reporter Kevin McCarty on Thursday, “We believe the shooter is already in custody,” but did not say whether investigators thought the gunman was Higashi or Reese.

Police said Sanders was killed when four people, three men and a woman, entered his home on the premise they were interested in a diamond ring Sanders had posted on Craigslist. Sanders was shot and killed when he stepped in to protect his 14-year-old son, who was being pistol-whipped by the robbers.

Knight, Higashi and Reese are also suspected in a similar robbery in Lake Stevens, about 60 miles north of Edgewood, in which a couple said they were tied up and their home was ransacked by two men who said they were responding to their Craigslist ad for a flat-screen TV.

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Internet Pawn Raises $1.5 Million in Initial Equity Funding

Two Experienced Venture Capital Firms Syndicate Round for Internet Pawn

DENVER,  May 4, 2010 – Internet Pawn, Inc., the first dedicated online pawn shop in the United States, today announced that it has completed a $1.5 million Series A equity financing that will allow the company to scale the organization and bring its groundbreaking online pawn personal loan service to market.

New investors Daylight Partners and Access Ventures joined the Company’s founders in the financing.  “We are thrilled to welcome Daylight Partners and Access Ventures to the Company’s family” said Todd Hills, co-Founder and CEO, “the expertise and capital our new partners bring will help us meet the increasing demand for our cash loan services around the United States.”

Rocky Mountain, of Austin, Texas based Daylight Partners, has joined the Company’s Board as part of the transaction.  “Daylight rarely invests in Companies outside of our own backyard.” Said Mountain “however Internet Pawn’s offering is so disruptive we felt compelled to make an exception.  With no interest due for 6 months and loan costs 60% less than a traditional brick and mortar pawn shop, this financing option will prove to be an exciting alternative for the millions of U.S. residents who currently utilize pawn services to meet their short term cash needs.”

“The Internet Pawn concept is one of the more intriguing we have seen in 15 years of investing” added Jay Campion of Access Ventures, who has also joined the Company’s Board with the financing; “the transparency, privacy and easy terms of the transaction has so far proven to be an attractive alternative to the professional or entrepreneur who needs immediate access to cash to satisfy short-term needs.”

About Internet Pawn
Launched in 2009 by 25-year industry veterans most recently responsible for the Jumping Jack Cash chain of traditional pawn shops in Colorado and Utah, Internet Pawn is the first Web-based pawn shop in the United States. As such, it is revolutionizing a 3,000-year-old industry by guaranteeing secure, confidential, asset-based loans with consumer-friendly rates and terms online. Unlike other online lenders, Internet Pawn offers loans based on the collateral of customers’ personal valuables. The company offers cash quickly with no payments for six months. A member of the Better Business Bureau and National Pawnbrokers Association, Internet Pawn guarantees a premium value based on its experience and proprietary valuation technology, and all transactions are conducted from the privacy of the customer’s home. For more information, go to www.internetpawn.com.

While Internet Pawn will loan on just about anything legitimate and of value from diamonds, art, gold & jewelry, to automobiles and motorcycles, Internet Pawn specializes in Providing Rolex for pawn, Omega for Pawn, Tag Heuer for pawn, and Breitling for pawn services.

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Guaranteed Online Personal Loans

Internet Pawn provides guaranteed online personal loans to honest people with valuable items opens it’s pawn shop online…

AS CONSUMERS SEEK ALTERNATE INCOME SOURCES DURING RECESSION, INTERNET PAWN OFFERS A SECURE, CONSUMER-FRIENDLY WAY TO ACCESS CASH

Company seeks to revolutionize pawn industry by offering the first Web-based pawn shop in the United States
DENVER, August 18, 2009 – As a result of the economic downturn, a large segment of the population is unable to access credit. Internet Pawn, a new online pawn service launched today by founders with more than two decades’ experience in the pawn industry, provides consumers a unique opportunity to discreetly leverage the equity they have in their personal valuables to solve immediate cash flow needs.

Internet Pawn:

• Provides personal loans based on the collateral of customers’ personal valuables – customers do not have to sell sentimental assets or valuables in order to receive cash

• Requires no credit checks or proof of employment to obtain a loan, given the collateral-backed loan agreement

• Offers cash quickly with no payments required for six months and gives customers the option for credit without negative consequences to their credit scores

• Guarantees premium loan amounts based on proprietary valuation technology and decades of industry experience

• Returns excess sales proceeds to the original owner

• Uses the latest in security standards, and partners with such industry leaders as Wells Fargo, Equifax, Verisign, Westec and PawnGuard, so consumers can trust their assets and personal information are safe and secure

“Internet Pawn puts a whole new twist on the concept of pawn loans, making pawn more attractive, affordable and convenient to a broader group of customers,” said Todd Hills, co-founder, president and CEO of Internet Pawn. “Internet Pawn is ideal for anyone with a valued personal asset and a temporary cash flow need. This can be someone who can’t rectify a financial challenge in 30 to 90 days, but will be in a different financial position in six months to one year; entrepreneurs without access to lines of credit; customers who have extended their credit over the past few years or anyone experiencing an unexpected household emergency.” “Internet Pawn derives revenue from the interest rate of our loans. It is our goal to return 100 percent of the items used as collateral to our customers,” said Jim McHose, Internet Pawn’s co-founder and CFO. “Our terms allow consumers time to get on their feet financially using valuables they might otherwise have to sell so that they can repay their loan. If they opt not to repay and we sell their item, we return excess proceeds from the sale to the consumer.”