A judge Monday declined to modify the bond of a Bowling Green man suspected of using Craigslist to find victims to rob at gunpoint.

Joeshawn Kierry Starks, 20, pleaded not guilty in Warren Circuit Court to three counts of first-degree robbery and three counts of criminal attempt to commit first-degree robbery.

Starks is in Warren County Regional Jail under a $50,000 cash bond set by Warren Circuit Judge Steve Wilson.

Wilson denied a motion to modify Starks’ bond, citing the serious nature of the charges against Starks and a pre-trial assessment that he was a high risk to miss a court date were he to be released.

Starks is scheduled to return to court May 11 for a pretrial conference.

The Bowling Green Police Department arrested Starks on March 9 following an investigation police say linked him to four incidents involving six victims or would-be victims.

The robberies fit a pattern: A person would respond to a Craigslist ad for a cellphone, arrange a meeting with the person who posted the ad, arrive at the meeting place and be confronted by an armed robber.

The earliest incident allegedly connected to Starks occurred Feb. 12, when a man from Mammoth Cave communicated via Craigslist with someone advertising a smartphone for $500.

According to court records, a man later identified as Starks called the victim once from a blocked phone number, explaining the number was blocked for security reasons.

Agreeing to meet at College Suites, the victim parked outside the 900 building and walked toward a breezeway. As the man passed the staircase, he was struck in the left shoulder and the left side of his face with a semi-automatic pistol, according to a city police report, causing him to drop his wallet.

The robber pointed the gun at the man from Mammoth Cave and told him to “turn and walk,” according to the police report.

On Feb. 27, two men answered a Craigslist ad to buy a cellphone and went to The Pointe at Western apartments to meet the seller.

When the men arrived at the 1100 building, they were ambushed by two black men with handguns, according to a city police report. One of the robbers struck one victim with a handgun and held him down while the other victim was assaulted.

City police learned that the Internet protocol address used to post the Craigslist ad was assigned to College Suites Apartments, to which Starks had access, according to an arrest report.

On March 6, two men went to College Suites to buy a phone advertised for sale on Craigslist using the same ad and contact information that would result in Starks’ arrest. Once at the 900 building, a black man wearing black clothing emerged from under the stairwell and brandished a handgun but ran when he saw that one of the men was wearing a holstered gun, according to an arrest report.

The final incident March 9, which resulted in Starks’ arrest, was orchestrated by the BGPD.

City police Detective Hany Elhubishi answered a Craigslist ad that day for a cellphone and sent text messages to someone who agreed to meet him at College Suites to sell the phone. 

According to court records, the seller changed the meeting location at the last minute to Regency Park Apartments, which is where police arrested Starks, who was dressed in all black and was carrying a gun that matched descriptions of the gun provided by prior victims.

— Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter at twitter.com/jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.