Smash and Grab gun store robbery....

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Allegedly police have arrested those involved.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008807280368

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Man cops sought in gun thefts surrenders


An Indianapolis man sought in connection with the burglary of a local gun shop Friday turned himself in to police early Sunday.

Nicholas Martin, 20, surrendered to police at the City-County Building about 1 a.m. Martin was questioned by detectives and taken into custody, said Sgt. Paul Thompson, a spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Another man being sought was located, interviewed and released Sunday without being arrested in connection with the burglary at Don's Guns and Galleries on the Northwestside.

Investigators say thieves used a stolen car to drive through the north entrance of the gun shop and steal an unknown number of handguns before fleeing in a white pickup.

Police on Saturday arrested and filed preliminary charges against three juveniles they detained the night before in the investigation of the burglary at the gun shop, 3807 Lafayette Road.

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Saturday arrests were made:


Police detain 4 in connection with burglary at Don's Guns
By Vic Ryckaert and Jeremy Herb
Posted: July 26, 2008

The city's most high-profile gun shop was hit by thieves who used a stolen car early Friday to bash through a wall and make off with pistols, at least one assault rifle and ammunition.

Late Friday, police pursued a white pickup truck suspected as the getaway vehicle in the Don's Guns & Galleries burglary, leading to the detention of four suspects.


The pursuit began about 9 p.m. by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers near 10th Street and German Church Road and ended at Colonywood and Summerwood drives in Cumberland, during which two officers were slightly hurt, according to a police news release.

The driver was taken into custody, and at least one firearm was recovered.

A short time later, a search warrant was used at a residence in the 800 block of Belhaven Drive, about five blocks from where the pursuit began. Three other suspects were taken into custody there, police said, adding that items found in the residence were linked to gun thefts from Don's Guns, 3807 Lafayette Road.

Names of the suspects, three men and a teenage boy, were not immediately released.

Exactly how many guns were snatched from Don's was uncertain. With an inventory of more than 5,000 weapons, store officials said it will take awhile to get a solid count.

Four thieves ran through the store in search of specific types of weapons, said IMPD spokesman Sgt. Paul Thompson. The thieves were in the store for less than a minute, said Don's Guns President Brenda Duety, and were caught on video camera.

The theft comes as police are combating a surge in gun violence that has left more than a dozen people dead so far this month.

"We're very concerned," Thompson said before Friday night's arrests, "because they had access to some very dangerous, high-capacity, high-powered weapons, just exactly what we don't want to see on the streets."

Store owner Don Davis, known for his enthusiastic TV commercials, said this is the latest of many store burglaries he's seen during his 35 years in the business. In 1997, a clerk at Davis' Greenwood store was shot and killed during a burglary.

Friday, the men stole a 2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse from the nearby Ray Skillman dealership and crashed it through the side wall of the gun store, Lt. Jeff Duhamell said.

Surveillance cameras captured images of three men busting through a wall, climbing out of the car and grabbing guns from the Northwestside store about 5:10 a.m. A fourth man was driving the getaway vehicle, a white Chevrolet dual-axle pickup, Duhamell said.

The burglars partially covered their faces, but they left fingerprints and other evidence, Davis said. At least one burglar suffered a cut breaking through a glass display case, Davis said, and left drops of blood at the scene.

Davis said Friday afternoon he would give anyone who helped catch the thieves free use of a shooting range for a year.

"They're headed for jail," Davis said. "You can't break into a Don's Guns and get away with it."
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At least they are getting more accurate

In the original report they kept referring to a robbery but nobody was there to get robbed, it was a burglary.

Crash barriers can be put up to stop these kinds of incidents, the NFPA Just says the fire department has to be able to get to the building. Internal security in a public building has to be so that a man can exit in case of an emergency which means one way doors. This was a private property building with no expectation of people having to get out of the store quickly after it had been secured so he could have all the bars and reinforcement he wants to keep people out. The good thing is he had security cameras but like 911 they are only good after the fact.

I just hope they get the inventory back before it is scattered all over the Midwest and I'm glad nobody got hurt. .
 
Why are the guns not secure in a safe or vault at night?
Click to expand...

I thought fed regs mandates that all guns be stored in a vault. it seems in the video they are in the display case. I guess they do have to be in a vault.
 
I don't think that is any sort of federal mandate. If it is, there are a HUGE number of businesses in violation. I know of only a couple gun stores that actually return all guns to a vault.
 
Where I live they won't even let you put a sign up. In most cities "code enforcement" will make you take anything down, that isn't "code", approved. It took a year to get approval to extend a screened enclosure an extra 3 foot, on my own home.
 
+1 BattleChimp on Don Davis.

I have been to Don's Guns and it is quite a sight. Worst gun shop I've ever been in. I'd believe that he had 6000 numchucks...6000 throwing stars...no way he's got 6000 guns. All his ammo looks like it was in a flood. Creepy, creepy place.

Heck, while indeed this was a crime, the only difference was the criminals didn't pay Don's rediculous prices for their illegal purchase...they just stole them. I am pretty confident that there are now no more nor fewer "illegal" guns in the hands of criminals as a result of this burglary than there would have been if Don had sold those guns.

Decent people just don't buy from Don's and that's that.
 
One more to say Don's Guns is bad mojo. Absolutely ridiculous prices, seems to stock a lot of $200 hipoints and lotsa gold plate/nickel plate type stuff.
 
They say that they were in the gunshop before because they are moving fast due to the alarm. I think this is kind of stupid because if i crashed a car into a store and had intent of stealing stuff i'd probably move pretty fast regardless of there being an alarm.
 
Posted by Fletcher:
Not to go too much aside, but I second this. I've never seen one at a gun store in NC, but I've only knowingly seen 8-10 in the state.
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You've seen 8 to 10 gun shops in NC. Impressive! Especially considering that there are over ONE THOUSAND gun shops in the state. :rolleyes:

So you can say you've seen a NC gun shop with stanchions, here's a photo of Hyatt Guns in Charlotte, one of the larger gun shops in the country with over 5000 guns in stock. Please note the three green poles in the photo, all of which are mounted in the parking lot pavement. Carolina Sporting Arms, the second largest gun shop in Charlotte, has concrete stanchions outside their store.

main2.jpg
 
yep, and BattleChimp Potemkin is right, Don theoretically represents guns in Indy. Don's been around since I can remember, i'm 27. Total sleaze. Luckily most (law abiding) people know it and avoid him.
 
I want to go there just to see what all the talk is about. Not to buy but to get a first hand experience of how the shop really is.

I have driven by there a few times.(I don't live that far from there) Ever time the I have passed the parking lot is packed and all types of people are in and out.

Back to the topic....

Nicholas Martin was on the news last night in Jail talking to a reporter.

"I was at home, I know nothing about the stolen car or the burglary I was there the other day with my sister who was looking to buy a gun"

The police found his finger prints on a counter top.

So then Don said that the last thing his guys do before going is clean the top of the glass.

This guy is going down.....

http://fox59.trb.com/

The link above is of NicholasMartin's interview. There are a few vids on the front page his is there on one of the links.
 
You've seen 8 to 10 gun shops in NC. Impressive! Especially considering that there are over ONE THOUSAND gun shops in the state.

So you can say you've seen a NC gun shop with stanchions, here's a photo of Hyatt Guns in Charlotte, one of the larger gun shops in the country with over 5000 guns in stock. Please note the three green poles in the photo, all of which are mounted in the parking lot pavement. Carolina Sporting Arms, the second largest gun shop in Charlotte, has concrete stanchions outside their store.
Click to expand...

Ooooh, you showed me one gun store of the "over ONE THOUSAND" with stanchions - impressive! I had nothing to say other than that stanchions were not as common as you might have believed, at least not in my area (which is not Charlotte, as you can see). It's ok to trade facts and opinions back and forth instead of sarcasm and smartass comments, it really is.

EDIT: Just to show the four closest to me, none of which have stanchions:

Young Guns:http://www.younggunsinc.com/images/storefront.jpg
PDHSC: http://pdhsc.com/front1a.jpg
Eagle 1 (Use Google Street View to see the storefront): http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Eagle+1+Supply,+4410+Craftsman+Drive,+Raleigh,+NC+27609&ie=UTF8&ll=35.840821,-78.607135&spn=0.006358,0.013647&z=17&layer=c&cbll=35.8394,-78.60683&panoid=H6ueZ1emtzGmjBVr9dRwGg&cbp=1,86.94362486809865,,1,1.9139966696487555
Lawmen's (Also use Google Street View): http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=35.731116,-78.639536&spn=0.013029,0.027122&z=16&layer=c&cbll=35.728418,-78.643274&panoid=hUSzBDhkbkwOlna8Y8r0PA&cbp=1,87.6999060469764,,0,13.007209425753735

Davi's new location might have them, but I know for certain their old store did not. Assuming it does, that's still only one store in the Raleigh area that has them, and 4 that don't.
 
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Ooooh, you showed me one gun store of the "over ONE THOUSAND" with stanchions - impressive! I had nothing to say other than that stanchions were not as common as you might have believed, at least not in my area (which is not Charlotte, as you can see).
Click to expand...

I know of no zoning requirements that prohibit stanchions in the Raleigh area, I could email the planning director to ask him about it if you wish as a planner to planner email.
 
^ I would be inclined to say it's most likely by choice that they're not present than by local regulation. Strip-mall regulation (no making permanent changes outside your store or somesuch), more likely, but it's still probably just the store's decision to not have them. As I said before, I can't pinpoint with 100% certainty why they're not installed (I never argued that local ordinances or regulations are the reason that they're not in place), just that they are not the norm for gun stores in this area.

But, who knows. After seeing all of the regulations Cary has on things being unsightly, it could happen.
 
Cary may very well have a regulation, they are Cary after all ;)

I think charlotte required indoor metal bars across the windows for Hyatt, as they have internal bars. Good gun shop though if your ever in charlotte, tons of guns, just try to talk them down on the prices, as they are high but fair.
 
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