Loaded AR-15s, handgun, ammo stolen in burglary

Victim says $3,385 worth of weapons, ammo were taken

Fully loaded AR-15s, a handgun, ammunition and other weapons are now in the hands of whoever broke into a car in Delray Beach over the weekend.

It happened during the overnight hours of Saturday on Dorson Way and was discovered Sunday morning, according to Delray Beach police.

Thieves or a thief grabbed two loaded AR-15s, a loaded 9 mm handgun, seven magazines loaded with ammunition, a tactical knife and mace from the Lincoln Town Car that was parked in a driveway.

The man thought he locked his car before going into his home, but there was no sign of forced entry, according to police.

The 31-year-old victim is a security guard who asked not to be named because of safety fears.

“To see all that randomly gone, and I know I had seen it there literally 24 hours before, just completely blew my mind,” he said.

He says he’s confident he did, in fact, lock his unmarked vehicle after parking it in his driveway, Saturday night.

“They could’ve done it either electronically or could’ve reset it directly from the battery, which is easy to do,” he said.

Sunday morning, he discovered $3,385 worth of weapons and ammunition were taken.

The weapons were in his car, he said, because of his job with a private security company.

“We do sometimes coordinate for different local police departments, so that does require us to be just as armed, if not more so, because we usually don’t have back up,” he explained.

“That is the reason why I have them and keep them stocked with me.”

He also says he uses smaller firearms as his home defense.

Acting Delray Beach Assistant Chief Gene Sapino says, on average, there are three to four vehicle burglaries a month where guns are stolen.

“We’re seeing people just leaving their guns attended, in unlocked cars, in the glove box, under the seat, in the trunk,” Sapino said.

The department’s new Gun Violence Team works tries to track down stolen weapons and the criminals who took them.

“We recently pulled over a vehicle this week, and inside was a large amount of narcotics, and a stolen handgun from 2008,” Sapino said.

Delray Beach police use social media messages to remind gun owners how they can help prevent their weapons from falling into the wrong hands.

“Don’t leave your guns or firearms inside your vehicle. On a second note, if you’re going to bring them inside your house, make sure you secure them inside your house also,” Sapino said.

The 31-year-old security guard is hoping that putting the serial numbers of the stolen weapons into a national database will help investigators find them. If any of the guns are discovered, they’ll immediately be flagged as stolen and detectives will be notified of the location.