Two teens charged in burglary at Oley gun shop
OLEY TOWNSHIP >> Two of four juveniles who broke into an Oley Township gun store last weekend making off with dozens of firearms valued at more than $25,000 had court appearances Wednesday.
Central Berks Regional police responded to an automatic burglar alarm at Cro-Arms Guns & Ammo, 959 Memorial Highway, shortly before 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
Officers found evidence of a break-in and later learned that 45 guns — rifles as well as handguns — had been taken.
In addition to the guns, damage estimated at more than $18,000 was done to the business, including smashed windows, plywood behind them and display cases, investigators said.
Central Berks Regional police and agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating the break-ins.
Central Berks Detective Sgt. Deron M. Manndel said charges were filed Wednesday against two of the juveniles. One was released on electronic monitoring and a second was committed to Abraxas, a private juvenile detention facility in New Morgan.
Manndel said he expected charges would be filed Thursday against a third juvenile and a fourth juvenile remains at large. Also Wednesday, Manndel said investigators recovered two more of the stolen guns.
Manndel said investigators got lucky in that the burglars left behind several guns they took but then dropped while fleeing the gun shop. Detectives also found a cellphone that led them to identify one of the alleged co-conspirators.
The four teen suspects, ages 15 through 17, were identified along with two men who drove them to and from the burglarized gun shop.
One of them, Johnathan A. Rodriguez, 20, of Flying Hills, admitted to agents that he drove some of the teens to and from the scene using a relative’s car, according to investigators. As compensation, he received several of the stolen guns and $100.
Rodriguez, of the first block of Fairway Road, was free on $25,000 bail after arraignment Monday before District Judge Ann L. Young in Reading Central Court.
Manndel said police executed a search warrant Tuesday night for Rodriguez’s residence in Flying Hills in an attempt to locate more guns but nothing was recovered. The other adult defendant, Nathan Diaz, 18, was taken into custody Sunday afternoon when ATF agents came to his home in the 2800 block of Mannerchor Road in Muhlenberg Township.
According to court records, agents encountered a boy who ran from them. They caught him and found one of the stolen handguns from the Cro-Arms burglary.
Diaz was free on $100,000 bail after arraignment before Young on Monday.
Rodriguez and Diaz face felony counts of conspiracy to commit theft and burglary and receiving stolen property.
What the teens were planning to do with all of the guns remains a focus of the ongoing investigation by police and the ATF, Manndel said.