Guns surfacing

The October 1 burglary of Scheel's All Sports in Lincoln is the largest gun burglary any of us can remember. To date, five people have been arrested in connection with the burglary, in which 82 guns were stolen. Within the first two days after the burglary, 30 guns were recovered in a series of arrests and searches. That left 52 guns on the street.

Tips concerning the fate of the missing firearms have been numerous, and a huge amount of investigative work has gone into this case. As of this morning, there are 189 narrative investigative reports alone in the case file. If it were printed, that would kill a tree or two.

There have been new developments this week. Over the weekend, we learned that a Phoenix police officer recovered one of these guns, apparently tossed on the ground at an apartment complex as officers approached. A second gun was recovered by Phoenix police investigating the apparent suicide of a 26 year old man who used one of Scheel's stolen Glocks to shoot himself on Sunday. Finally, we learned yesterday that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office recovered two more stolen guns in a drug bust that netted around ten pounds of methamphetamine on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

The four recoveries in the Phoenix area mean that 48 handguns are still out there. It's apparent that a significant number made their way quickly to Arizona, and our investigators are searching for any connections between our suspects and their acquaintances that might provide some leads. I suspect that the Scheel's guns will continue to surface in crimes in various parts of the country for many years. I hope I'm wrong on that, and a large stash is discovered somewhere.