Six men were arrested and charged with being part of a group of robbers who used stolen cars to seize more than 300 firearms in raids on gun stores in Southern California.
The robberies include one early Saturday morning at Fowler’s Gun Room in Orange, where the suspects used a stolen Kia sedan to crash it into the door of the businessa robbery in which 70 firearms were stolen, federal and local police officials reported.
Authorities said the suspects detained They are accused of conspiracy to steal weapons from facilities that have federal firearms licenses.
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If found guilty and sentenced, The subjects could face sentences of up to 10 years in prison.according to US attorney general’s spokesman Ciaran McEvoy.
“While members of the public were not in immediate danger from their actions, it was dangerous to steal cars at 3:00 a.m., it was dangerous to crash those cars into commercial buildings, and it was dangerous to sell those weapons to God knows who.“We are not going to be able to do that,” District Judge John Early told the defendants, who made their first court appearances Tuesday.
The suspects 43 guns were stolen from the Chaparral Coin and Gun store in Murrieta on October 9, 2023; At Poway Weapons and Gear in Poway, San Diego County, 78 guns were taken on March 25, 2024; on June 17, 2024, the subjects took 33 guns from Firearms Unknown in Oceanside.
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On June 18, 2024, thieves stole 25 firearms from Ammo Bros in Riverside; on July 1, they robbed Camarillo Gun Store in Camarillo for a haul of 63 weapons; While on July 13, the robbery was committed at Fowler’s Gun Room in Orange, where 70 firearms were stolen.
The suspects They also tried to break into and steal from weapons stores. in Ontario on June 12, in Fallbrook on June 13 and in Simi Valley on July 9, officials said.
Those arrested They were identified as Cross Arjay Goree, known as C3, 18, of Lake Elsinore.; Caine Aiden Goree, 22, of Lake Elsinore, and Kenneth Gilmore III, known as Kenny, 19, of Las Vegas.
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It is also Brendan Markel Hawkins, 19, of Lake ElsinoreCalvin Logan Gray, 18, of Murrieta, and Kendall Eric Johnson, also known as K3, 23, of Lake Elsinore.
Cross and Caine Goree, along with Kendall Eric Johnson, were arrested this Saturday after officers served a federal search warrant at his Lake Elsinore home
Authorities said Gilmore and Cross They tried to escape through the back of the house when they saw the officers arriving, but were later arrested.
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At home, the agents 45 stolen firearms found at Fowler’s Gun Roomtwo weapons from the Camarillo Gun Store robbery, one stolen from Chaparral Coin and Gun and one from Poway Weapons and Gear.
To commit each robbery, the suspects They used stolen vehicles to crash into the front doors of stores to gain entry.They then smashed the display cases to take the weapons and then fled in other cars.
Allegedly, the suspects They sold some of the weapons on the black marketwhile others were recovered in separate criminal investigations.
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The six subjects are in the custody of the authorities. with a bail of $20,000 dollars for each of the accused.
It is planned that they will return July 30 for a second court hearing.
The robberies are being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Ventura County Sheriff’s Officethe Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department and the Orange Police Department.
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