One late fall morning, around 1 a.m., a Kia Optima crashed through the front door of Chaparral Coin & Gun in Murrieta.
The thief hooded and masked out, jumped over the counter and filled the backpacks in the chests before making a getaway in a second vehicle, leaving the stolen Kia bang into the building.
He was in the store for about 90 seconds, enough time to make 43 firearms, said Denise Geurts, who owns the store with her son.
Federal authorities said the heist was the first in a series that involved the theft of more than 300 guns, which were later sold on the black market.
Six people have since been charged with conspiracy to steal firearms from a federal firearms license holder, the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles announced Tuesday. Businesses targeted were in Ventura, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties, with the most recent incident reported Saturday at Fowler Gun Room in Orange, where 70 firearms were stolen.
Those arrested were Cross Arjay Goree, 18, of Lake Elsinore; Caine Aiden Goree, 22, of Lake Elsinore; Kenneth Gilmore III, 19, of Las Vegas; Brendan Markel Hawkins, 19, of Lake Elsinore; Calvin Logan Gray, 18, of Murrieta; and Kendall Eric Johnson, 23, of Lake Elsinore.
The men are suspected of burglarizing or attempting to burglarize nine stores, each time using a stolen vehicle to drive through storefronts, smash displays and flee with firearms in another stolen car.
Some of the stolen guns were later linked to other crimes currently under investigation, according to an affidavit by Jannah R. Holden, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The first theft happened on Oct. 9 at Chaparral Coin & Gun, which owner Geurts described as “ma and pa’s store.” A team of four burglars take mostly Glocks, Geurts said.
Prosecutors said the crew’s modus operandi was to look for vehicles like Kias to temporarily steal as battering rams.
A month passed before another burglary occurred, on March 25 at Poway Weapons & Gear in San Diego County. In that case, Holden wrote, thieves drove a stolen Hyundai Elantra into the front door and stole 78 firearms.
Then, on June 12, there was an attempted burglary at Ammo Bros. in Ontario, according to the affidavit. The next day, thieves tried – but failed – to break into Fallbrook Guns and Ammo.
On June 17, thieves stole 33 firearms from Firearms Unknown in Oceanside — and then, a day later, 25 firearms from Ammo Bros. in Riverside.
Thieves hit three gun stores this month, first at the Camarillo Gun Store on July 1st, where they stole 63 firearms, then they attempted to steal the Smokin Barrel Gun Store in Simi Valley on July 9th and finally the Fowler Gun Room on July 13th.
The owner of Fowler Gun Room told a local news outlet the thieves were equipped with headlamps and sledgehammers. When reached by phone Tuesday, the owner declined to speak, saying it was “too fast.”
Four of the suspects – Cross Goree, Caine Goree, Johnson and Gilmore – were arrested July 13 when law enforcement searched their residence in Lake Elsinore.
During the search, officers allegedly found one stolen firearm from Poway Weapons & Gear, another from Chaparral Coin & Gun, two from Camarillo Gun Store, and at least 45 from Fowler Gun Room, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison. It was not immediately clear from court records whether he had an attorney.
Chaparral Gun & Coin estimated inventory loss at $25,000 and property repairs and damage at $10,000.
Geurts, 59, said the stolen weapons were brand new and his store didn’t have insurance for the inventory because of the high cost. He said friends helped repair damage to the building.
Now there are bollards in front of the store to block any future ramming attempts and the store puts the gun away every night and is considering hiring a security guard, Geurts said.
Geurts said her husband, who started the business, died of COVID, and the robbery only added to her struggles.
“We’ve been through a lot in the last few years,” he said. “This theft is just the frosting on the cake so to speak. … It will take us many years to recoup the loss.
He blames criminals like those who robbed his store for giving gun owners a bad rap.
“They’re the ones who cause the crime,” he added, referring to the people he arrested, “not normal people who come in and buy guns legally.”