The third attempt was successful on Sunday: Police arrested four teenagers who had driven a stolen car into a warehouse in Eastgate and stolen several firearms.
Union Township Police Lt. Scott Blankenship said officers were called around 6:10 a.m. after an alarm went off at the Sportsman Warehouse on Eastgate Drive.
All four suspects face multiple charges, including theft of firearms from a federally licensed gun dealer, he said in a Facebook post.
Blankenship says similar crimes have occurred in other areas such as Newtown, Northern Kentucky and Miami Township. He adds that the suspects arrested Monday are believed to be connected to the other burglaries.
However, according to Newtown Police Chief Tom Synan, this was the third stop for the would-be gun thieves on Sunday. He says subsequent investigations revealed that the teens had attempted to steal weapons from two other gun stores on Sunday morning before ending up in Union Township.
In total, there have been at least five attempted or successful break-ins at gun shops in the region in the past two weeks.
First stop: Miami Township, Clermont County
The first stop on Sunday was an unsuccessful attempt at Just Guns and Ammo on Ohio 131 in Miami Township. Synan said a car seized in Kentucky was used to break into the store in the early morning hours.
Synan said the stolen vehicle drove into the building. The car damaged the building, but not enough for the would-be gun thieves to enter the store. So they continued on to Newtown in the stolen car.
Newtown’s next
Synan said at 5:39 a.m. Sunday, a stolen vehicle drove into the Range USA building on Round Bottom Road to gain entry to the store.
But Synan said his department spoke to people at Range USA on Thursday about other gun store robberies and third-shift officers noticed suspicious activity.
After police spoke with the business owners, Range USA placed several large boulders in front of the glass windows at the front of the building.
“They were so cooperative and proactive,” he said. “We got there on Sunday and the car was on the rocks.”
When this attempt failed, the suspects abandoned their first stolen car and fled in a second stolen vehicle.
Union Township was the last stop
When Union Township officers arrived at Sportsman’s Warehouse, they saw a white Hyundai leaving the area at a high rate of speed and without its headlights on. Blankenship said the driver then crashed on Eastgate Boulevard and three suspects fled on foot. Police initially arrested three, and a fourth was later found.
The collaboration could have ended the shopping spree
“The great work and quick action of Union Township Police Officers in Clermont County may be the catalyst to putting an end to this series by arresting the suspects,” Synan said.
“We will work with all local authorities and the ATF to bring charges related to the Newtown incident.”
He said cooperation, information sharing and the arms dealers’ own initiative led to a quick solution.
“I would also like to thank the public for any tips about a possible connection to another attempted theft in our area,” he said. “We are following up on those tips to see if there is a connection.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the capture of the suspects responsible for the break-ins at the two gun stores in Florence.
