Cops nab 3 gunmen in SW Phila. home-invasion robbery

This post has been updated.

A dozen people were enjoying a karaoke party in the rec room of a Southwest Philly house Sunday afternoon when a group of not-so-smart gun-wielding robbers burst in and stole their cash, cops said.

But the gunmen weren't able to ruin all the fun at the house, on Grovers Avenue near 68th Street. In fact, they put on quite a show for cops and their alleged victims after one woman, whom they left in the basement while marching some of the partygoers upstairs to empty their pockets (no word on whose bright idea that was), outsmarted them by calling 9-1-1 while none of the four unsuspecting gunmen was watching.

Cops arrived at the house within minutes, and the robbers peered out a second-floor window at the fate that awaited them below, said Lt. John Walker of the Southwest Detective Division. Busted!

One robber dropped his gun in the house and attempted to run out the front door – right into the cuffs of cops waiting to collar him on the street. Two of the other thugs, in a bold yet impressively stupid attempt to evade police, jumped out a rear second-floor window, Walker said, landed on one of the victim's cars and ditched their guns in a trashcan – all while cops watched. Police, of course, caught up with those two and arrested them on the spot.

"It was a pretty daring act," Walker said. "They tried their best, but unfortunately [for them], the good guys won this battle."

One of the four men got lucky and was able to escape out the back door and elude police before they surrounded the house, Walker said.

Investigators found the guns of all three of the men they arrested and recovered stolen cash from each of them. In what might be the only saving grace for these guys, the young criminals may have been a little inexperienced: Walker said two are 18 and the other is 19.

Cops Sunday night were still interviewing witnesses, working to determine how much cash was stolen and looking for the fourth gunman, who managed to escape while his compadres got pinched.

The robber on the lam is described by police as a black man who's 5 feet 6 to 5 feet 8 and has a dark complexion and short hair. He wore a blue hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

Save the world from stupid criminals: Tipsters can call the Southwest Detective Division at 215-686-3183.