A shot at taking the law into their own hands backfired on the residents of an apartment on North B Street in Aberdeen Wednesday and led to the arrest of three would-be vigilantes.

According to Aberdeen Police Lt. Kevin Darst, the residents had been robbed the day before. They were able to detain the two robbers until police arrived. The two suspects had told the residents that an Aberdeen man by the name of Dale Peterson had sent them to burglarize the apartment.

On Wednesday evening, the residents lured Peterson to the apartment under the guise of purchasing a phone he was selling on a popular shopping website, Offer Up. When Peterson arrived the residents exacted their revenge, then called police to report they had caught a burglar.

“Upon arrival the officers observed a male (Peterson) sitting on the steps leading to the apartment with his hands behind his back and people standing around them,” said Darst. “(Peterson) was bleeding from the head with blood coming down his face.”

Officers pulled Peterson aside and were told he was pistol whipped, beaten with a bat, kicked and punched with his hands zip tied behind his back.

“Peterson had the front of a pistol barrel imprinted on his forehead with numerous cuts, contusions and bumps on his face and head,” said Darst. “He advised officers that two of the men that beat him up were the ones standing out front of the residence.”

Officers seized the residence as a crime scene and conducted a security search for officer safety. A female resident told officers that there wasn’t anyone else in the apartment. During the search, officers located two suspects, a male resident of the apartment and another female. The male told officers that a friend had attacked Peterson and he had tried to break it up. Eventually he was identified as the person who pistol whipped Peterson and was arrested, said Darst.

Aberdeen detectives were called to the scene to take over the investigation. They interviewed numerous people and then served a search warrant on the premises. They recovered firearms and other evidence of the crime. The two residents of the apartment were arrested, along with the female found at the scene. Peterson denied having anything to do with the burglary the day before and was treated for his injuries and released. Darst said the investigation is ongoing.