The third time came on Sunday, when police arrested four minors after the teenagers rammed a warehouse in Eastgate in a stolen vehicle and stole multiple firearms.
Union Township Police Lt. Scott Blankenship said officers were called around 6:10 a.m. after an alarm went off at the Sportsman Warehouse on Eastgate Drive.
All four suspects face multiple charges, including theft of firearms from a government-licensed gun dealer, he said in a Facebook post.
Blankenship says similar offenses have occurred in other areas such as Newtown, Northern Kentucky and Miami Township. He adds that the suspects arrested Monday are believed to be connected to the other burglaries.
But this was the third stop for the would-be gun thieves on Sunday, according to Newtown Police Chief Tom Synan. He says the subsequent investigation revealed the teens tried to steal weapons from two other gun stores Sunday morning before ending up in Union Township.
In total, there have been at least five burglaries or break-ins at gun stores in the region in the past two weeks.
First stop: Miami Township, Clermont County
The first stop on Sunday was a failed attempt at Just Guns and Ammo on Ohio 131 in Miami Township. Synan said a car taken in Kentucky was used to enter the store in the early morning hours.
Synan said the stolen vehicle was driven into the building. That car damaged the building, but not enough to let the would-be gun thieves into the store. So they drove that stolen car to Newtown.
Newtown’s next
Synan reported at 5:39 a.m. Sunday that a stolen vehicle was driven into the Range USA building on Round Bottom Road in an attempt to gain entry to the business.
However, Synan said his department spoke with people at Range USA on Thursday about other gun store robberies and that Third Shift agents noticed suspicious activity.
After police spoke with the business owners, Range USA placed several large boulders in front of the glass windows on the front of the building.
“They were so cooperative and proactive,” he said. “We got there on Sunday and that car was on the rocks.”
When that attempt failed, the suspects abandoned their first stolen car and fled in a second stolen vehicle.
Union Township was the last stop
When Union Township officers arrived at Sportsman’s Warehouse, they saw a white Hyundai leaving the area at a high rate of speed without its headlights on. Blankenship said the driver then crashed on Eastgate Boulevard and three suspects fled on foot. Police initially captured three of the suspects and a fourth was later found.
Collaboration may have ended the streak
“It was great work and quick action by the officers of the Union Township Police, Clermont County, that may be the catalyst to put an end to this series of crimes by arresting the suspects,” Synan said.
“We will be working with all local agencies and ATF to file charges for the incident in Newtown.”
He said the gun shops’ cooperation, information sharing and proactiveness ensured the problem was quickly resolved.
“I also want to thank the public for the tips about the possible connection to another attempted theft in our area,” he said. “We are following up on those tips to see if there is a connection.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of suspects responsible for the burglaries of the two gun stores in Florence.
This article originally appeared on the Cincinnati Enquirer: Teens charged in Union Township gun store robbery used car to break in
