Men posing as U.S. Marshals invade home, rob couple at gunpoint, police say

PHOENIX — Two men posing as U.S. Marshals forced their way into an Arizona couple’s home last week and robbed them at gunpoint while their children were asleep inside, authorities said.

The men, identified as Frankie Cancannon, 49, and Anthony Espejo, 46, are expected to be charged with two counts of armed robbery, according to KTVK in Phoenix.

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Court documents obtained by the news station show the two men went to the victims' home in Laveen, a community within Phoenix, around 7 a.m. June 24 and knocked on the door. When the woman answered, they said they were bail bondsmen and asked to see a relative of the couple.

One of the men was wearing a navy polo shirt with “U.S. Marshals” on it, the documents said. The other wore a blue vest with the agency’s name on the back of it.

Before the woman could respond, the men pushed their way inside, the filing states, according to KTVK.

The men pointed a handgun at the woman’s husband and used plastic zip ties to bind his hands. They then took about $8,000 in cash, three cellphones, keys and jewelry from the couple.

According to KTVK, the husband broke free of the zip ties and fought with one of the assailants before running from the house and calling police.

The men drove off in a maroon 2007 Chevy Tahoe. Surveillance cameras at the victims’ home and elsewhere in their gated community captured images of the vehicle, including the license plate.

Three digits on the plate had been altered, but investigators were able to tie a maroon Tahoe with the last four numbers to Cancannon, court records say.

Two days later, Cancannon and Espejo were arrested during a traffic stop in Pinal County, ABC 15 in Phoenix reported. The men were charged with weapons offenses after the patrol officers found guns, fake badges, ballistic vests and stolen goods in the vehicle, authorities said.

They were booked into the Pinal County Jail, where both remained Monday morning. Cancannon's bail was set at $252,500. Espejo is being held in lieu of $254,500 bond.

Arizona Department of Corrections data shows that both men previously served prison time. Cancannon served just over a year of a three-and-a-half-year sentence on theft and weapons charges. He was released in 2013.

Espejo served two years on a 2014 charge of attempted theft of a vehicle, the records show. He was released in 2017.

Cox Media Group