Hundreds of guns stolen from Des Plaines gun shop; four teens charged
BY FRANK MAIN AND RUMMANA HUSSAIN Staff Reporters January 19, 2012 2:48PM
Mugshot of Darrell Holmes, 19, Blue Island, charged in connection with a gun-theft ring supsected of stealing hundreds of guns from Maxon Shooters Supplies in Des Plaines.
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Updated: February 21, 2012 8:38AM
Chicago Police officers have nabbed four teenagers connected to the theft and illegal sale of hundreds of firearms from a suburban gun shop — and investigators are now checking whether the same ring is linked to recent burglaries of about a dozen other gun shops across the state, officials said Thursday.
The burglars used a sledge hammer to break through the door of Maxon Shooters Supplies & Indoor Range in Des Plaines and smashed the glass in the store’s display cases Sunday, stealing more than 200 handguns, prosecutors said.
Emmanuel Warner, 17, of Dolton, was among the burglars, prosecutors said. Chicago Police officers said they were given permission to search Warner’s home and found three handguns stolen in the burglary and about $3,300 in cash. Warner admitted he was involved in the heist, prosecutors said. He is charged with aggravated possession of stolen firearms.
After the burglary, the thieves went to a home in the 6200 block of South Morgan in Englewood, prosecutors said. Trevell Allen, 17, of Blue Island, did not participate in the burglary but agreed to sell some of the weapons, prosecutors said. He allegedly sold two of the guns.
Chicago Police said they recovered 20 of the stolen firearms and about $2,000 in cash from Allen’s home. Allen, who allegedly confessed, is charged with aggravated possession of stolen firearms.
Darrell Holmes, 19, of Blue Island, admitted he obtained a gun from Allen on Monday and told police that Allen “hung around with people that rob gun stores,” prosecutors said. Police said they found a blue-steel semiautomatic handgun hidden in a stereo speaker in Holmes’ home. He is charged with one count of possession of a stolen firearm.
Brandon McGee, 18, of the 5800 block of South Emerald, turned himself in to Chicago Police officers on Tuesday when he learned authorities were looking for him, his arrest report said. McGee, known as “Man Man,” is charged with seven counts of unlawful sale of a handgun.
Chicago Police said some of the suspects are known members of the Gangster Disciples street gang in Englewood. Gang investigators got information that focused the burglary investigation on Englewood — and gang enforcement officers got additional information from a traffic stop that led to a search warrant on the house in the 6200 block of South Morgan, police said.
Police said they have recovered 58 guns, most of which were stolen from Maxon Shooters Supplies.
“We don’t know how many lives we have saved” by taking the guns off the street, said police Supt. Garry McCarthy, flanked by Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and other officials.
Sources said the Maxon heist was among about a dozen burglaries of gun shops across the state. McCarthy said police and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating whether the burglaries are connected.
McCarthy said police are searching for other suspects in the Maxon case. A Maxon representative declined comment.
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