2 men indicted in firearms theft
Pair accused of plot to sell 107 guns stolen from truck
Two men were indicted this week by a federal grand jury in Little Rock on allegations that they broke into a truck that was transporting goods for the sporting-goods chain Gander Mountain and stole approximately 107 firearms that were being shipped to Texas.
The indictment charges Mario Marquell Ward, whose age and hometown were unavailable Friday, and Curtis Earl Evans, 40, of Memphis, of conspiring with others to steal the guns and sell them.
The conspiracy took place from Jan. 11 through Jan. 28 in the Eastern District of Arkansas, the indictment alleges. It says that on Jan. 11, co-conspirators traveled to a roadside truck parking area near the 35-mile marker on southbound Interstate 55 in Mississippi County. There, it says, they broke into a tractor-trailer rig that was being operated by Chaser and had been consigned by Gander Mountain’s distribution center, and took the cache of stolen weapons to the Memphis area for distribution.
On that same day, according to the indictment, Evans and Ward sent text messages to each other arranging for the sale of the stolen guns.
The weapons weren’t described in the indictment; however, according to a criminal complaint against Evans filed Feb. 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, the weapons were mainly handguns, some manufactured by Sturm, Ruger and Co.
The indictment notes that Evans conducted Internet searches from Jan. 12 through Jan. 28 to find out information about the stolen firearms, including their sale prices.
Both men are charged with a single count of conspiracy to possess and dispose of stolen firearms transported in interstate commerce.
Since late December, more than 80 tractor-trailers have been broken into in Crittenden, Mississippi and St. Francis counties, with at least 15 thefts occurring, according to court records. The break-ins and thefts have occurred along a stretch of I-55 from West Memphis to north of Turrell and a stretch along Interstate 40 between Forrest City and West Memphis.
Besides the Gander Mountain weapons, the stolen goods include products from Tyson Foods, items from a Jennie-O Turkey truck, 15 Mongoose bikes, chocolate delight cakes, a number of Apple MacBooks from a UPS truck and approximately 65 Goodyear Wrangler tires.
On Feb. 10, authorities arrested Evans at a roadside parking area along I-55 in Turrell and charged him with theft of goods from an interstate carrier shipment affecting interstate or foreign commerce, according to the criminal complaint.
During an initial appearance Feb. 11, Evans waived his right to a preliminary examination and detention hearing, but he reserved his right to request a hearing at a later date.
The criminal complaint against Evans stated that an investigation into a series of “seemingly related thefts” is being conducted by the sheriff’s offices in Crittenden, Mississippi and St. Francis counties and other law enforcement agencies within those counties, along with the assistance of the Arkansas State Police, the Little Rock office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Memphis Cargo Theft Task Force.