It was a 911 call from a 17-year-old inside the home that led police deputies and New York State Troopers to find a woman with her hands tied behind her back, a man with minor injuries to his ear, and three young children who were all unharmed.

Now, three men from Ohio are accused of breaking into a North Syracuse home Tuesday morning.

Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick said the case started back in May, when one of the defendants, a 33-year-old Anthony Santiago, drove a vehicle to the address in North Syracuse with the purpose of selling a car.

Investigators say while Santiago was at the North Syracuse home, he noticed there was a substantial amount of marijuana — several kilos — inside the home.

DA Fitzpatrick says the evidence suggests Santiago then discussed his findings with two friends, Malik Shabazz,18, and Andres Arzola-Torrewho, 31, who also lived in Cleveland; they decided to go back about a month later to rob them.

“The stupidity of this is astonishing,” said Fitzpatrick. “I don’t know why you would drive several hundred miles to find a marijuana dealer, but apparently that’s what they did.”

During the robbery, the adult man and woman were pistol-whipped by the suspects. There were four kids under the age of 18 in the home — ages 3, 8, 11, and 17. The suspects were accused of threatening them, but not harming them.

“The youngest child, it may be a distant memory in a year or two. The 11-year-old, probably going to remember it much longer,” said the District Attorney. “The 17-year-old will probably remember it for the rest of his life.”

Now, the suspects will face robbery, burglary, and weapons charges. Police recovered three loaded firearms in the investigation.

At the arraignment, the night of Tuesday, June 28, one of the suspects, Santiago, has three prior felony convictions for assault in Ohio.

“Hopefully, these three individuals from Cleveland will be held pending trial, I would hope,” said Fitzpatrick.

The District Attorney says the evidence at this point suggests the man living inside the North Syracuse Home was dispensing marijuana as a side business illegally. However, the man will be offered immunity if they retain council.

“I’m looking at the greater evil here is clearly three individuals that would allegedly break into a home in the middle of the night and pistol-whip the occupants and threaten them with illegal firearms, that’s the much more serious matter,” said Fitzpatrick.

District Attorney Fitzpatrick emphasized there is no danger to the surrounding community, as this was a targeted attack.

There will be more information about the criminal past of Santiago and the other suspects as authorities in Ohio are contacted.