Sean Hailstorks, 24, had D.C. police officers to thank when they came to his aid during a Jan. 12 armed robbery at his Buchanan Street NW residence. Cops responded quickly enough to a 911 call to nab one of the gun-toting perps before he could flee the scene. In a far less fortunate turn for Hailstorks, those same cops also found on the inside stairwell of his home a curious black lockbox—apparently part of the sought-after loot—which, according to court papers, emitted “a strong odor of Marijuana.” Police took the box and got a warrant to open it; inside they found more than $3,000 in cash and about 140 grams of weed. Within days, they secured a warrant to search the entire house. When they raided it a week after the robbery, cops found Hailstorks and three others in the basement along with “numerous ziplocks” of marijuana, some spent .40-caliber casings, and a 9 mm handgun; Hailstorks was arrested on drug and weapon charges. Sgt. James Black, who works in the area, wasn’t surprised that Hailstorks & Co. failed to clean house after the lockbox was seized. “If they were really bright, they’d be making their money in stocks or bonds,” he says. —Dave Jamieson