Craigslist post leads to home-invasion robbery, police say

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Police are searching for three men responsible for a home-invasion robbery at a fraternity house near Fresno State. A victim stepped forward Tuesday with a warning.

The gunmen used craigslist to find the victims, police said. The victim said he's used the website dozens of times, typically meeting in public places. But this time he invited the suspects to his apartment. That is a move he'll never do again.

The three men were robbed at gunpoint late Sunday. "I never imagined this was going to happen," said Luis, the victim. "I mean I needed to sell my PS4 because I needed money. So I brought them over to my house. I had two other roommates with me. I didn't expect anything bad to happen since I had company."

The victim says he initially let only one person into his apartment. When he went back to his room for a moment the gunmen entered. Heading back into the living room the victim found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

"I got on my knees, put my hands up, and I was just looking at the floor the whole entire time," he said. "And I could hear the other gunman telling my roommate and his friend don't say anything do look at us or I'll shoot you guys."

He was selling the PS4 so he could repair his car. He says because his car isn't running he chose, for the first time, not to meet the so-called buyer in a public setting.

The suspects even requested to meet in public, police say, likely to protect themselves. "I think they had a different plan of doing the robbery," said Fresno Police Lt. Joe Gomez. "It would have been easier than going to their house, cause you never know what people have at their house. He could have had a gun or something, or how many people are there at the house."

The suspects stole a long list of expensive items including a "42 inch plasma TV, my PS4, two pairs of Jordan's, my set of keys, they stole my iPhone," Luis said.

The victim says an X-Box and his roommates' phones were also stolen. He's since replaced the locks on his door.

The robbery happened at a fraternity house across the street from Fresno State. But the complex was mostly empty because of winter break.

The victim actually contacted Action News to put out a warning. "You never think it's going to happen to you," he said. "It happened to me. If it happened to me it could happen to anybody."

The victims were not injured in this home-invasion robbery. Police are looking for four suspects. One they say pretended to be a buyer earlier in the day likely to scope out the apartment to plan the crime.