A Virginia homeowner was arrested after he pointed a gun at a group of Airbnb renters who he said trashed his home in Loudoun County.
John A. “Jack” Andrews, 77, was charged with five counts of abduction plus firearms charges.
As first reported by the Loudoun Times-Mirror, Andrews visited his $4 million dollar home in the 39000 block of Snickersville Turnpike in Aldie after an employee notified him of significant damage.
There were broken windows and doors, damaged furniture, glass everywhere and large blood stains throughout the rental property from a fight that broke out, Andrews told police. The repair costs to the home are expected to be at least tens of thousands of dollars, the bond filing said.
“It looked like there was a mass murder from his perspective there,” Andrews' attorney, James Campbell, said.
Concerned for his own safety, Andrews entered his home with his gun drawn.
“He didn’t know what was there. He just knew it looked like a crime scene,” Campbell said.
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There, he was met with about 12 people, according to the court filing. Andrews told them to stay put while the sheriff was on the way. Some stayed at the scene, but others fled.
Andrews blocked one carload of young people with his truck, but when deputies arrived, he was the one handcuffed and charged.
“The last thing Jack thought when he saw these people trashing his house, and they fled the scene to avoid the police, was that he would be the focus of the investigation rather than the people who did $80,00 damage to his home,” Campbell said.
The guests were questioned and released.
The sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate who was involved in the overnight fight that caused the damage.
Airbnb said in a statement that incidents like these are few and far between, and the renters have been barred from using the site again.
"There have been over 300 million guest arrivals in Airbnb listings to date; Negative incidents are extremely rare," the company said.
