LOS ANGELES (CN) — Six men face federal charges accusing them of carrying out a nine-month burglary spree Southern California gun shops in which they used stolen cars to crash into the stores in the middle of the night to steal hundreds of firearms.
The men, all in their late teens or early twenties, are charged with conspiracy to steal firearms from federal firearms licensees, according to an announcement Tuesday from the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. They each face up to ten years in federal prison if convicted.
Five of the accused live in Riverside County, where prosecutors say they targeted the first of nine shops they are charged with either robbing or attempting to rob. In October 2023, they used a stolen Kia Optima to ram the door of Chaparral Coin and Gun in Murrieta at 1 a.m. and, wearing hoods and masks, stole 43 firearms according to the criminal complaint.
One of the defendants, who was already on probation, was arrested only a few days later when three of the stolen firearms were found in his home along with clothing that matched what one of the burglars was wearing in surveillance footage. He admitted being involved in the break-in and was immediately arrested, according to the criminal complaint.
Prosecutors say the next store four of the accused hit was in San Diego County where they used a stolen Hyundai Elantra to crash through the door of a Poway gun shop and filled up bags and a suitcase with 78 firearms. The Hyundai turned out to be stolen in Lake Elsinore where four of the defendants reside.
The getaway car they used in that burglary, a Chevrolet Equinox, was spotted later the same day in North Las Vegas. Law enforcement observed and arrested several people going inside the house where the Chevrolet was parked to buy guns. Inside the house, they found 33 of the firearms that had been stolen from the Poway store. One of the accused burglars was also stopped with a black ski mask used during the break-in still in his pocket.
The burglary crew went into high gear in June where first they had two unsuccessful attempts in quick succession to ransack a gun store in Ontario and one in Fallbrook.
But then from June 17 through July 13, they had four more successful burglaries, where they stole close to 200 firearms, as well as one more failed attempt.
On July 1, hours after the break-in of a gun store in Camarillo, one of the defendants put a post on Instagram showing multiple handguns with “TAP IN” and “#notforesale” over the top of the story, according to the affidavit by the special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in support of the criminal complaint.
Additional stories posted throughout that day included an image of two handguns and videos of a lines of cash laid out on the floor. The stories showing money laid out are typical of social media posts by individuals that are showing the profits from selling illegal goods, according to the affidavit.
A number of the stolen guns have since been found in the hands of other criminals, including in a notorious narcotics and gang area in South LA.
After the last burglary on July 13, law enforcement went to the home where some of the accused and their parents lived in Lake Elsinore. Two of the suspects tried to flee through neighbor’s backyards but were quickly apprehended. When law enforcement searched the home, they discovered 61 firearms, including 45 that had been stolen that morning.