Man places want ad seeking guns; crooks show up at his Spanish Lake house to rob him

SPANISH LAKE • A 79-year-old man placed an ad that he would pay cash for any unwanted guns.

But when a purported seller showed up at his home Wednesday night, the man was accosted by three men who tied him up with a jump rope and carried out weapons by the armsful.

St. Louis County Police Officer Brian Schellman said the man was not injured in the attack about 8 p.m. Wednesday at his home in the 1700 block of June Drive.

Police did not have a detailed description of the three robbers.

The victim had gotten a call Wednesday from a man who saw his ad in the Thrifty Nickel newspaper. The caller said he had a .38-caliber revolver he wanted to sell. They agreed to meet at the home on June Drive.

On Wednesday night, the victim got a call that the seller was outside. When the victim opened the overhead garage door to let him in, two men pushed him to the ground and tied him up. A third man then joined in to help carry guns, jewelry and cash out of the home.

A neighbor saw two men loading items into a car that was backed up in the driveway. One man had an armful of guns.

"When I saw barrels of guns sticking out of his arms, that was an indication that there was a robbery or home invasion going on," the neighbor told the Post-Dispatch. He asked that his name be withheld for fear of being targeted by the robbers.

As the neighbor walked closer to the house, with a cellphone in his hand to call police, the men loading guns into the car moved even faster. They jumped in a car and took off, the neighbor said.

The car was a white four-door Pontiac Grand Prix.

The neighbor went to the victim's home and found him on the living room floor with his hands and feet tied. He helped untie the man and asked if he was okay. The victim said yes, and police arrived within minutes.

Schellman said this type of crime is more common than one might think. He urged people wanting to buy or sell a product to a stranger to meet in a public place, like a parking lot or mall.

"Don't do it at your house or secluded areas," he said.