How Criminals Get Guns: Prison for Man who Stole 55 Guns after Cutting off Alarm, Climbing in Store Skylight

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posted on May 19, 2019
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A man was sentenced to 33 months imprisonment after admitting to stealing 55 handguns from a popular outdoor adventure sporting goods store along the Northern California coast.

According to a plea agreement before a U.S. Senior Court judge, the man admitted he cut the power lines to disable the store alarm in the early morning hours of Aug. 8, 2015.  

“He then climbed on the roof and broke through a skylight to gain access to the firearms.  He broke into a cabinet containing firearms and then carried 55 handguns out of the store in a backpack, forcing open a roll up door to exit the store.”

The man stored the guns for an undisclosed amount of time before he began selling the firearms.

“A number of the stolen firearms have been recovered by police officers in California, Oregon, Georgia and elsewhere, including at the scene of a homicide in Arcata, Calif., in September 2017.”

As part of his sentencing, the man was ordered to pay the sporting goods store $56,600 in restitution.

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