Five Texas men were recently charged for stealing more than 650 firearms from a UPS freight trailer in Springfield, Missouri.
The theft occurred at the UPS facility in Springfield, Missouri, back in October 2017. According to police reports, the five suspects allegedly broke into the lot and hot-wired two tractors in order to move several trailers out of the way and get into the trailer that was loaded with the guns.
“The trucks had been parked back to back and blocked by other trailers to prevent access to the trailer doors, but ‘the thieves hot-wired two truck-tractors and used them to push and pull various trailers around the lot,'” The Dallas Morning News reported.
When UPS employees reported to work, they discovered that the load of guns, which included six hundred .380-caliber handguns and 54 12-gauge shotguns had been stolen from the trailer. The thieves also made off with a pallet of Justin boots, 12 cases of soda, and some power tools.
The guns were being shipped from Beretta USA in Maryland and had an intended destination of Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Missouri.
The men named in the indictment all live in the Dallas, Texas-metroplex and have been identified as: Quinton Haywood, 26; Keith Lowe, 28; Frank McChriston, 33; Derrick White, 32; of Arlington; and Eric White, 26.
They have been charged with aiding and abetting one another to steal firearms being shipped across state lines.
All five suspects were arrested on unrelated warrants in late 2017. On Wendesday, January 24th, 2018, authorities charged the five men in connection with the UPS gun heist after linking their DNA to the crime scene.
All suspects have pleaded not guilty, however police say one of the stolen guns was found in Derrick White’s car at the time of his arrest. Most of the stolen guns have not been recovered.
The five men are currently behind bars in a Dallas County jail and are awaiting extradition to Missouri.