Troy VanderStelt, a 33 year old married father of two was shot in the head at point blank range in his office this week by a former client.
Prosecutor Tony Tague said Johnson was upset that he could not sell a home that he had purchased through VanderStelt in 2005, so he went to Nexes Realty on Tuesday and shot VanderStelt in the head at point-blank range with a .22-caliber semiautomatic handgun that police recovered.
The perp, a monster named Robert Johnson, had been informed that his house was worth less than the price he had purchased it for in 2005, at the height of the market. He must have felt that VanserStelt was negligent in his duties by not foretelling the future at the time he sold Johnson the house.
This is yet another example that we agents do not sit behind a desk and manipulate money to earn our living. Stockbrokers only deal with people who have money to invest. Insurance agents only deal with people who have an insurable interest. Everyone gets sick, but doctors have the insulation of the hospital, nurses, support staff and security. We have no such buffer. We deal with all types at the far end of the sanity curve, because everyone has to live somewhere. Virtually every day I am in the basement or den of a complete stranger. My wife is always reminding me keep a record of where and with whom I meet.
In the late 90′s I was asked by a client to meet at his house. While there, the guy flew into a rage that his home wasn’t sold, and accused me of not following up on inquiries. He was wrong of course, but that didn’t stop the guy from physically attacking me. I escaped unhurt but shaken up.
We earn every penny.
J. Philip Faranda
