Car-crashing gun grab gets North Las Vegas man prison time

The last of four men convicted of stealing 21 firearms in the smash-and-grab burglary of a Henderson gun store in August 2011 was sentenced Wednesday to 2½ years in federal prison.

Demario F. Edwards, 24, of North Las Vegas, also was ordered to serve three years of supervised release after he gets out of prison.

Edwards pleaded guilty in October to possession of a stolen firearm and theft from a federal firearms licensee.

Three co-defendants, Victor Williams, 21, Daryl Galtney, 25, and Frank Freeman, 27, also pleaded guilty and were sentenced last year to 37 months, 63 months, and 100 months in prison, respectively.

“Many of these stolen firearms end up in the hands of criminals, who later commit crimes of violence,” Nevada U.S. Attorney Bogden said. “It is important to send a message to persons who steal firearms in burglaries and robberies that there are strong federal laws prohibiting this type of conduct and we will use them to keep the community safe.”

According to prosecutors, the defendants drove a stolen Crown Victoria through the front entrance of the Henderson gun store in the early morning hours of Aug. 13, 2011. Once inside, the defendants broke a glass display case and began stealing multiple firearms. They drove away in a separate vehicle with 21 handguns, leaving the Crown Victoria inside the store.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with help from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Henderson Police Department, and North Las Vegas Police Department.