ATF investigating 42 guns stolen from Kansas City pawn shop, gear from KCPD squad car
Federal agents are investigating the burglary of several dozen firearms from an area pawn shop, as well as the theft of police-issued gear recently stolen from a Kansas City Police Department squad car, according to federal court documents.
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives applied for a search warrant to seize the guns and other items from a home in Kansas City, Kansas, according to recent court filings.
In late February, the Kansas City Police Department was called to the 4200 block of North Oak Trafficway in response to a business that was being rammed by a large pickup truck. They arrived to find that Alpha Pawn, located nearby, had been burglarized.
Officers reviewed surveillance videotape, which showed a stolen Dodge Ram pickup truck ramming into the front doors five times before creating an opening for the individuals to enter. Five suspects were seen entering the shop as they made their way to the gun cases and jewelry, according to the federal warrant.
Federal agents determined the pickup truck was stolen and used in one successful and another unsuccessful burglary the same night, the warrant said.
None of the suspects had been taken into federal custody as of Tuesday morning, said John Ham, a spokesman with Kansas City’s ATF. He declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.
Using an undercover user account on the social media platform Snapchat, federal agents last week tracked several of the pistols reportedly stolen from the pawn shop. They identified the guns through photographs posted online seeking to sell them.
Items posted for sale on the monitored Snapchat account included an AR-15 rifle, a Glock handgun and marijuana, federal agents said.
While surveilling the property where agents believe the guns and other stolen property are being kept, a federal agent also reported seeing one person riding up and down the street on a four-wheeler while wearing a bullet-proof vest that was possibly stolen from Kansas City police.
During ATF’s investigation, Kansas City police told federal investigators that an officer reported several items were stolen from his unlocked squad car in January, including a bullet-proof vest, a magazine for an AR-15 rifle, a police-issued radio and a riot helmet.
Sgt. Jake Becchina, a Kansas City police spokesman, referred questions about the stolen KCPD property to the ATF, saying that information is part of an ongoing investigation.
Luke Nozicka contributed to this report.
