Men sentenced for robbing victims in Kansas City who answered Craigslist ads

Two men who used phony Craigslist ads to lure their victims were sentenced Tuesday to federal prison for a series of armed robberies in Kansas City.

Thomas Thorpe, 27, of Kansas City, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Kansas City to 27 years in prison.

Troy Wright, 23, of Grandview, received a 25-year prison sentence.

A third defendant in the case, Debvon Buckner, 25, of Kansas City, has also pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

Thorpe and Wright committed six armed robberies in June and July 2014, including one where two people were wounded by gunshots.

After the first robbery, they recruited Buckner to communicate with potential victims.

According to federal prosecutors, the men placed fake for-sale ads on Craigslist. When people who responded to the ads showed up at specified locations, they were robbed of money and electronics.

In one of the robberies, a married couple from Liberty answered an ad on July 16, 2014, about a car for sale. They were robbed of their money and shot.

The man was shot eight times, and his wife suffered a shattered elbow, according to documents filed by prosecutors.

The couple’s teenage son witnessed the shooting of his parents and had to perform first aid on his father until help arrived.

“But for the heroic acts of this victim’s son, first responders, and medical professionals, those shots would have resulted in that victim’s death,” prosecutors said in court documents.

This story was originally published February 7, 2017 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Men sentenced for robbing victims in Kansas City who answered Craigslist ads."