Four New Mexico teens between the ages of 14 and 16 are accused of breaking into a gun store in Las Cruces last weekend; the latest in a string of incidents around the country where juveniles are committing brazen burglaries of gun shops.
In this particular case, Las Cruces police say while four suspects are in custody, they believe other teens were involved as well.
An officer who happened to be in the area heard an alarm from the store and discovered the break-in after the suspects fled. Other officers arrived within minutes, police said.
The suspects left the damaged red Kia at the scene and fled in another stolen gray Kia Forte, police said.The four teenagers were then detained on Monday, and police executed a search warrant where several stolen firearms were recovered.
All four teens were turned over to authorities with the Juvenile Probation and Parole Office. Due to their ages, police cannot publicly identify them.
Given the soft treatment given to juvenile suspects, its entirely possible that every one of these teens will be home to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, and if they’re charged as juveniles the defendants aren’t likely to spend much, if any, time behind bars if they’re convicted or take a plea deal.
Earlier this year in Ohio, for example, three teens between the ages of 13 and 16 were sentenced for their roles in a number of similar smash-and-grab burglaries of gun stores. The trio used stolen cars to ram the storefront of the firearm retailers, then ran inside to scoop up whatever they could before fleeing in another stolen vehicle. Despite facing 17 felony charges, a judge sentenced two of the three to 12 months in juvenile detention or until they turn 21; a sentence that will almost certainly fall on the lower end of the range, while a third teen was put on electronic monitoring and released to the custody of their mom.
Meanwhile, reports of juveniles committing these kinds of crime are becoming increasingly common. In Garland, Texas two teens have been charged with using a stolen moving truck to ram the front of a gun shop last month. Three teens were taken into custody in St. Charles, Missouri last month as well, after they too allegedly used a stolen car as a battering ram to gain entry to a gun store. A trio of teens were arrested in Mississippi on similar charges in late September. In August a pair of teens in Tennessee were arrested for allegedly stealing guns from a gun shop and then using one in the commission of an armed carjacking.
According to a news release from the Metro Nashville Police Department, a 2014 Honda Accord was stolen from a home on Tusculum Road on Sunday night. The victim was getting out of the vehicle when two teens allegedly robbed him at gunpoint and took the vehicle. Police said that on Monday, detectives were conducting surveillance of the vehicle when two teenage boys — ages 14 and 15 — entered the vehicle and drove off. The vehicle was immobilized a short time later on Tusculum Road at Colemont Drive, according to the MNPD.
Authorities said that both teenagers were armed with guns they allegedly stole during a gun store burglary in Dickson. They were ordered by officers to drop their weapons before being taken into custody.
These teens aren’t just stealing firearms. They’re threatening (and in some cases, ruining) the livelihood of their victims. Ordering them to pay restitution is a joke, and most of these FFLs wont’ ever see a penny from their assailants, even if they are convicted or take a plea deal.
Teens should know that their tender age won’t spare them from a lengthy stint behind bars if they engage in this kind of criminal behavior, but as long as its going largely unpunished I’m afraid this dangerous trend is going to continue.
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