89 Year-old Man in Stafford Nabs Scam Artists

The Fredericksburg Free Lance Star reports this morning that an 89 year-old man nabbed four out-of-state thugs who had been running a scam. In a "Fool Me Once Shame on You, Fool Me Twice Shame on Me" moment, the four had hoodwinked the Stafford County man once before in one of those driveway sealing scams. Not content with the first hoax, they came back for a second time. The victim had been coaxed into coming outside to discuss another job, while the other three went in the house and began looking for things to pilfer. When the man re-entered the home he found the three going through his things and trying to steal a safe.

During a scuffle, they pushed the man around and eventually knocked him to the floor. He then reached under his mattress and pulled out a handgun according to the county Sheriff. The perps taunted him even while having the gun pointed at them, but they left.

The man gave a description to the Sheriff's office and they found the suspects who were identified as Christopher A. Yoanis, 21, of Philadelphia; Larry L. Frank, 33, of Charlotte, N.C.; Alex Yoanis, 65, of Charlotte; and John J. Frank, 36, of Margate, Fla.