Man admits kidnapping Michigan store manager in scheme to steal 123 guns

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A man pleaded guilty Tuesday in a wild scheme to steal 123 handguns by kidnapping the manager of a Michigan sporting goods store and threatening him at gunpoint to reveal how to turn off the alarm.

“Darnell Bishop’s brazen crimes, if successful, would have flooded the streets of Benton Harbor and beyond with illegal firearms,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said.

Bishop admitted that he and his brother handcuffed and blindfolded the Dunham’s Sports manager at the victim’s home last November and forced him to reveal how to disable the alarm.

Bishop said he went to the store and stole two coolers, sunglasses and 123 guns while accomplice Dontrell Nance stayed with the Dunham’s manager in a car. Evidence included store video of the theft.

Bishop pleaded guilty to kidnapping and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Nance pleaded guilty to the same charges in April. They face up to life in prison.

Investigators identified one of the men after he tried to transfer money from the manager’s bank account with a cash app.

The guns were worth more than $100,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. All have been recovered.

The Dunham’s store is near Benton Harbor, 100 miles (160.9 kilometers) east of Chicago.