6 charged in series of Southern California gun store burglaries

Five Riverside County men and a Las Vegas resident are facing a federal charge of taking part in a series of burglaries and attempted burglaries at firearms stores across Southern California, pilfering more than 300 weapons, prosecutors said Tuesday

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Lake Elsinore residents Cross Arjay Goree, 18, Caine Aiden Goree, 22, Brendan Markel Hawkins, 19, and Kendall Eric Johnson, 23, were charged along with Calvin Logan Gray, 18, of Murietta, and Kenneth Gilmore III, 19, of Las Vegas, with conspiracy to steal firearms from the premises of a federal firearms licensee, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

All six defendants were in state custody pending their expected appearance Tuesday afternoon in federal court in Santa Ana.

Federal prosecutors said the defendants would use stolen vehicles to ram storefronts of firearms dealers, then smash display cases, steal weapons and flee in other stolen vehicles.

The defendants are accused of stealing 43 firearms from a store in Murrieta last October, and 78 more from a store in Poway in San Diego County in March. The group then allegedly carried out burglaries or attempted burglaries at seven more stores in June and July, most recently on Saturday in Orange. Other heists or attempted heists were carried out in Ontario, Fallbrook, Oceanside, Riverside, Camarillo and Simi Valley, prosecutors said.

According to the criminal complaint, the stolen weapons were being sold on the black market, and some were discovered in the possession of other people during separate criminal investigations.

On Saturday, law enforcement served a warrant at a Lake Elsinore residence believed to be the location where the Gorees and Johnson lived, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. When officers arrived and announced their presence, Gilmore and Cross alleged tried to flee from the back of the residence but were quickly apprehended.

Law enforcement carrying out the search allegedly found nearly 50 weapons that had been stolen in four of the heists, prosecutors said.

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