Six men were charged with federal crimes after running a nine-month burglary spree of gun shops across California by using similar tactics to steal hundreds of firearms, the U.S Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, said Tuesday.
The men, some of whom are teenagers, are accused of using stolen cars to ram into the stores and make away with dozens of weapons at each burglary scene.
They were arrested last Saturday at the home of two of the suspects. During the search of the house, they found dozens of stolen firearms.
The suspects were identified as 18-year-old Cross Arjay Goree of Lake Elsinore, 22-year-old Caine Aiden Goree of Lake Elsinore, 19-year-old Brendan Markel Hawkins of Lake Elsinore, 23-year-old Kendall Eric Johnson of Lake Elsinore, 18-year-old Calvin Logan Gray of Murrieta and 19-year-old Kenneth Gilmore III of Las Vegas.
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Their most recent burglary happened last Saturday when they broke into Fowler’s Gun Room in Orange to deal 70 firearms, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Security video from Saturday showed the eight men, wearing masks and hoodies, were in and out of the store within minutes after using one of the stolen cars, a gray Kia, to ram the front of the gunshop.
The burglars, equipped with head lamps and sledgehammers, ransacked the store and broke glass cases to make away with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of weapons, the shop owner had said.
The federal complaint also alleges the group was also behind the burglary of Camarillo Gun Store in Camarillo on July 1 when similarly, a stolen Kia was used to smash through the front door of the business to clear the way for the burglars.
The suspects, most of whom are from Riverside County, were behind seven other gun shop burglaries and attempted burglaries:
- Chaparral Coin and Gun in Murrieta on Oct. 9, 2023, where 43 firearms were stolen.
- Poway Weapons and Gear in Poway on March 25, 2024, where 78 firearms were stolen.
- Firearms Unknown in Oceanside on June 17, 2024, where 33 firearms were stolen.
- Ammo Bros in Riverside on June 18, 2024, where 25 firearms were stolen.
- Attempted burglary into Ammo Bros in Ontario on June 12, 2024.
- Attempted burglary into Fallbrook Guns and Ammo in Fallbrook on June 13, 2024.
- Attempted burglary into Smokin Barrel Gun Store in Simi Valley on July 9, 2024
Federal investigators believe the stolen firearms were being sold on the black market. Some of the stolen weapons were in the possession of other people involved in different criminal investigations, the U.S Attorney’s Office said.
If convicted, the six men would each face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment. The bust was a result of collaborations among the ATF, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, San Diego Sheriff’s Department and Orange Police Department, the U.S. The Attorney's Office said.
