Amputee beaten, robbed in home invasion

Calvin Snipes, 39, who has a prosthetic leg, said he was watching television in his home on Lower Moncure Road Thursday night when the men burst through the front door, which was unlocked.

"The next thing I know, they were like, 'Where's the money? Where's the jewelry?'" Snipes said Tuesday.

One of the men brandished a gun, and the other slipped a plastic bag over Snipes' head.

"Luckily, my hands weren't tied then, so I had ripped a hole through the bag, and luckily I could breathe," he said.

The men threw Snipes to the floor and bound his and his wife's hands with plastic ties.

"He was, like, steadily hitting me with his fist or something," Snipes said.

The robbers fled with jewelry, a cell phone, a jar of coins and about $200 in cash, including $125 Snipes said he planned to use to make a payment on his truck.

Snipes' wife, Crystal, 31, freed their own hands with a kitchen knife and was able to untie her husband and call authorities.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office has issued warrants for Delanta McGregory, 39, of West Spruce Street in Sanford, charging him with first-degree burglary, assault on a handicapped person, larceny and possession of stolen goods. Investigators haven't yet identified a second suspect in the home invasion.

Snipes said he's seen one of the robbers before, but he said he can't figure out why he became a target for a home invasion.

"I'm disabled. I live off a check," he said. "I don't know why they chose to come up here like that."

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Lee County Sheriff's Office at 919-775-5531.