BRACEVILLE, Ohio (WKBN) – The owner of a local sporting goods store said he had faith that the people who stole more than 30 firearms from his shop would be caught. That is what Todd Garland said Monday. He was right.
According to investigators, surveillance video from inside the store show the suspects in the store about 11 hours before the break-in at Rattlesnake Hill Sporting Goods early Monday.
Sheriff Paul Monroe said Daquantae Kimbrough and Brendon Nichols were apprehended. Kimbrough is in the Trumbull County Jail, while Nichols is being held in the Mahoning County Jail.
Monroe says investigators are still currently searching for a third suspect, Jalen McCall and an unnamed fourth suspect.
As of last night, investigators were able to recover a dozen of the 34 stolen firearms.
“It hurt my business immensely, but what they did — putting that type of firearms out on the streets — now is going to endanger communities,” Garland said.
The break-in happened early Monday morning at the store located at the corner of state routes 534 and 82 in Braceville.
“We’re going to persevere,” Garland said.
Garland is also Braceville’s fire chief and a township trustee.
“We do everything we can here to try and secure this place. We have bars on every window and bars on the doors and everything else. Unfortunately, if they want in, they find ways to get in,” he said.
Garland says in total, 34 guns were stolen from the store — 26 handguns and eight long guns.
“It’s devastating to a small business to get that kind of loss. It’s probably going to be better than $14,000. I’ve been here for 27 years and $14,000 is a lot of money to us anymore,” he said.
“Criminals committed a crime here. I mean, they broke in, intentionally stole these guns,” said Trumbull County Sheriff Paul Monroe.
Monroe says Kimbrough was arrested visiting his girlfriend at the Mahoning County Jail while Nichols surrendered after a brief barricade with law enforcement at a home on Baymar Drive in Boardman.
Monroe says 10 guns were recovered in the Boardman home, which led to another residence in Campbell, where two additional firearms were recovered.
Investigators with the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are leading the investigation.
According to Monroe, 12 of the stolen firearms have been recovered, but 22 are still missing. He says his goal was to find the weapons before they were sold illegally on the streets.
“If you hear something on the street or you know of someone selling a brand new gun and it’s a deal that’s too good to be true [and] the serial numbers are ground off of the firearms, they are probably stolen. Please contact us immediately,” Monroe said.
On Tuesday afternoon, investigators released surveillance video of the break-in.
Garland says he was able to recognize two of the suspects right away, as they were wearing the same clothing Sunday afternoon when one of the suspects used a credit car to buy ammunition.
“I have pictures of them on my camera system standing here at the counter as a customer and then standing outside as a crook breaking in,” Garland said.
Monroe says the search continues for two other suspects, including McCall.