Selling a vehicle? Police advise not to go on test drives with prospective buyers

William Anderson "Andy" Banks Jr., 39, was last seen on Sept. 12 in the Woodburn Road area near Cameron Village. Friends said he was meeting a potential buyer for his silver 2011 Range Rover Sport, whom he met through Craigslist, outside a closed K&W Cafeteria.

Justin Fernando Merritt, 34, is being held without bond in the Wake County jail.

"We always want people to be as safe as they can anytime they’re doing any kind of internet exchange," said Capt. Ann Stephens of the Apex Police Department.

Apex police and several other area law enforcement agencies have set up areas outside their offices in recent years to serve as safe zones for sales and purchases that were arranged online.

"A person with bad intentions is not likely to consent to such a meeting place," said Alicia Stemper, spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

David Bowser, spokesman for the Durham County Sheriff's Office, said a deputy actually meets the buyer and seller outside the Durham County Justice Center and observes the exchange in the office's Safe Haven program.

If you can't meet at such a safe zone, Stephens recommended using a crowded location.

"Anything that’s a major place with lots of people is always good," she said. "If they don’t want to meet you at a high-visibility location, they want to meet you somewhere that’s kind of off and out of the way, that should be a big signal not to do that."

She also recommended taking a friend or relative along and urged people not to conduct an exchange at night or at home.

"The more information you can gain about somebody before you meet them, that’s great," she said. "Know their name, their phone number, verify that that’s correct."

A vehicle sale, such as Banks' effort to sell his SUV, presents other challenges, Stephens said.

"If it’s somebody you don’t know, I would not suggest getting in the car with them and going for a test drive," she said. "If something happens to your car, that’s better than something happening to you."

Stephens recommended taking a photo of the prospective buyer and his or her driver's license so you have information about them and then letting them take the test drive alone.

"Mr. Banks did everything right," Capt. Andy Murr, a homicide captain for the Raleigh Police Department, said in a statement. "He arranged to meet in a public place during daylight hours. The suspect in this case had ulterior motives that led to the tragic death of Mr. Banks."

After finding Banks' cellphone along Interstate 40 in Raleigh on Sunday, investigators traced the Craigslist buyer's phone to Danville.

Danville police found Banks' SUV under a tarp parked behind a vacant building in town on Monday, according to an application for a search warrant.

Merritt, who the warrant application states lives a few doors down from where the vehicle was found, was arrested Tuesday on charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon, larceny of a motor vehicle and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the stolen vehicle.

During a search of Merritt's home, police seized a handgun, some ammunition, a knife, three phones, a pair of cargo pants and other items, according to the search warrant.

The body has been sent to a coroner in Roanoke, Va., for an autopsy and positive identification.