13 Guns Stolen From Store

[rscalzo]

13 Guns Stolen From StorePolice Say Guns Could Be Sold On Street

POSTED: 11:44 am EDT August 7, 2006
UPDATED: 5:20 pm EDT August 7, 2006

NEWPORT, N.H. -- Police in Newport on Monday investigated the theft of 13 handguns from a gun shop over the weekend.

The alarm sounded at the Stone Eagle frame and gun shop at about 4 a.m. Sunday. Police said that when they arrived, they found that a small window had been shattered and someone had gotten away with 13 semiautomatic handguns.

"Basically, the top is glass, the front is glass, and they smashed it with another weapon, and inside the case, there were several handguns," Chief David Hoyt said. "Most of them they removed."

Police said the guns are worth about $7,500 and can easily be sold on the street.

Investigators estimates that the thief was in the business for less than two minutes, but that person could have had help on the outside. Police said they also believe the thief knew exactly what he was looking for.

"I believe the suspects had to case the area prior to the burglary," Hoyt said. "You can't see the weapons from the outside. They were probably in the store prior to the actual event."

Police also speculated that the guns are probably no longer in the Newport area and may have already been sold for cash.

"Now we have weapons that can obviously hurt or kill somebody, and not only one, but over a dozen out there floating around," Hoyt said.

Anyone with information about the case was asked to call the Newport Police Department at 603-863-3232.

 

[News Shooter]

I don't get it

Don't most stores put their handguns in a safe overnight?

 

[BigWarden]

Ugh. Sounds like the business wasn't all that secure ... I'm surprised, cause I've never been in a gun shop in this state that wasn't built like a bomb shelter.

 

[dreppucci007]

Don't most stores put their handguns in a safe overnight?

I was wondering the same.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Not positive but I think that MA requires you to lock up all handguns in a safe at night as part of the MA Dealers License.

Doubt that other states do that.

Newport NH is a nice, sleepy village, not a place you'd expect this sort of theft. No doubt the place was alarmed and perhaps that's all BATFE requires in civilized "free states".

 

[LoginName]

Not positive but I think that MA requires you to lock up all handguns in a safe at night as part of the MA Dealers License.

I wouldn't doubt it... unrealistic licensing practices (but never enforced), is the norm here.

I know of at least one FFL that's very careful to cross all the "Tee's" and dot all the I's" and the same handguns are in the same spot in the same display case
as they were months ago.

IIRC, "safe storage" and securing firearms by FFLs was part of the Clinton era HUD/S&W deal.

 

[rscalzo]

I don't think a store the size of Kittery Trading Post locks all their handguns up at night. Even smaller ones such as Riley's probably leaves them in the glass case and alarms the building. Unfortunatly, it would take only minutes to remove a dozen of more handguns in that time frame.

 

[MichaelJ]

Not positive but I think that MA requires you to lock up all handguns in a safe at night as part of the MA Dealers License.

The guy who owns the shop I go to informed me that the reason he doesn't need to lock all his guns up and put locks on the in the store is because by law his store is his safe. No matter what you do, if someone wants something of yours all you can do is delay them and make it harder for them to get it. If they want it bad enough, they will ultimetly get it.

 

[Moderator]

Don't most stores put their handguns in a safe overnight?

When I was working at a local shop, we spent the last 30 min before closing locking up all the guns.

 

[dreppucci007]

When I was working at a local shop, we spent the last 30 min before closing locking up all the guns.

To me, that would be the only way to do it.

 

[rscalzo]

Locking Up

All firearms or just the handguns. I don't thin any shop I've ever dealt with in NJ or NH ever did that every night. I'm guessing as stated earlier, the shop, properly alarmed is considered a secure location. It isn't but that would be the state's outlook.

I could see KTP spending the last two hours locking them up and another two taking them back out in the morning...........

 

[Jaxon]

"The alarm sounded at the Stone Eagle frame and gun shop at about 4 a.m. Sunday."

I think that says it all.

RJ

 

[drgrant]

I don't think a store the size of Kittery Trading Post locks all their handguns up at night. Even smaller ones such as Riley's probably leaves them in the glass case and alarms the building. Unfortunatly, it would take only minutes to remove a dozen of more handguns in that time frame.

Most bigger stores in free states, the trend I see is to secure the hell out of
the store, and try to make the whole store a safe, of sorts... and most of
them are pretty well alarmed... the idea being that if you can do enough to
prevent a smash + grab, you can prevent 99% of most store
thefts.

I would venture a guess that either this guy is a "new" FFL or simply has
never been broken into before.


-Mike

 

[Len-2A Training]

Where BJ worked the owner designed a neat system to lock all the long guns "in place". So yes, he meant all the guns.

True that most gun stores are "fortified" and have motion sensors, etc.

Remember the guy who broke in thru the roof into Hunter's Trading Post. Well secured store, but didn't expect an "air drop" burglar.

Many small towns in NH (and Western MA) have a part-time PD and rely on State Police for late evenings and perhaps weekend coverage. This could mean 20-30 minute response times . . . more than enough time for a well planned robbery. Luckily most areas of NH don't have the crime problem that MA does, so this is a very unusual event.

 

[reinbeau]

Most bigger stores in free states, the trend I see is to secure the hell out of
the store, and try to make the whole store a safe, of sorts... and most of
them are pretty well alarmed... the idea being that if you can do enough to
prevent a smash + grab, you can prevent 99% of most store
thefts.

You'd have a helluva time doing a smash and grap from KTP, the guns are on the second floor, lots of space to run through to get out.

 

[rscalzo]

Break-ins

It was pointed out that there was a burglary through the roof. The vast majority of the commercial break-in's back in my jurisdiction in NJ were through the roof. Even if the alarm sounds, the subscriber will not respond and there is no way to check the roof. Everything looks normal from the ground. Of course the ladder is up on the roof. KTP probably would be somewhat of a problem unless someone could enter through the large windows on that floor.

Stone Eagle has been around at least for a few years. I've seen him at the NH gun shows for at least three years.

 

[reinbeau]

It was pointed out that there was a burglary through the roof. The vast majority of the commercial break-in's back in my jurisdiction in NJ were through the roof. Even if the alarm sounds, the subscriber will not respond and there is no way to check the roof. Everything looks normal from the ground. Of course the ladder is up on the roof. KTP probably would be somewhat of a problem unless someone could enter through the large windows on that floor

Yep, that's how they robbed the Tweeter store in Hanover. They got away with thousands of dollars worth overnight - they figured the bad guys actually made a couple trips

 

[LoginName]

You'd have a helluva time doing a smash and grap from KTP, the guns are on the second floor, lots of space to run through to get out.

I wouldn't be surprised if KTP has an overnight (armed), security guard walking the store.