katonk
Member
Federal prosecutors have charged a former employee of Wade's Eastside Guns, accusing the 43-year-old man of stealing more than a dozen handguns from the popular Bellevue gun shop.
In a complaint filed earlier this week, Sammamish resident Leeland Cho is accused of taking firearms from the store before being fired when a coworker saw him reselling ammunition he'd bought at Wade's under an employee discount.
Heidi Wallace, a Seattle-based special agent with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said in court documents that Cho came under suspicion in September after Bellevue police were told Cho's former employer suspected him of stealing at least one gun from the shop.
Shortly after receiving the report, Wallace learned that Cho had been arrested by Seattle police in April 2008 after allegedly attempting to steal cigars from a city supermarket. At that time, Wallace said in court documents, Cho was armed with two pistols.
Cho lost his job at Wade's days after his arrest, having worked there just more than two months. Police impounded Cho's weapons following the shoplifting call, and later established that one of the pistols had been reported stolen from the store while Cho was employed there.
Speaking with investigators, a Wade's employee said the store had determined that 22 guns had gone missing during Cho's tenure. The employee, who'd worked there for 12 years, told investigators "he had never known Wade's Eastside Guns to have misplaced, lost or had stolen this number of guns at one time," according to Wallace's statement.
"They have had guns not accounted for in the past, but … it was always one or two here and there, not this many at once," Wallace said in court documents.
Agents served a search warrant at Cho's home on March 26. Searching the house, investigators found 16 stolen firearms.
While in custody Cho admitted to stealing guns from his employer, Wallace said.
"He stated that he did it to get revenge for an earlier firearm sale he made at Wade's … in which he felt he was cheated out of money," Wallace said in court documents.
During a preliminary hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Cho was ordered to surrender his firearms and barred from leaving Western Washington, a U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman said. He is charged with possession of a stolen firearm and theft of a firearm from a federal firearms licensee.
Cho remains free pending an evidentiary hearing scheduled later this month
In a complaint filed earlier this week, Sammamish resident Leeland Cho is accused of taking firearms from the store before being fired when a coworker saw him reselling ammunition he'd bought at Wade's under an employee discount.
Heidi Wallace, a Seattle-based special agent with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said in court documents that Cho came under suspicion in September after Bellevue police were told Cho's former employer suspected him of stealing at least one gun from the shop.
Shortly after receiving the report, Wallace learned that Cho had been arrested by Seattle police in April 2008 after allegedly attempting to steal cigars from a city supermarket. At that time, Wallace said in court documents, Cho was armed with two pistols.
Cho lost his job at Wade's days after his arrest, having worked there just more than two months. Police impounded Cho's weapons following the shoplifting call, and later established that one of the pistols had been reported stolen from the store while Cho was employed there.
Speaking with investigators, a Wade's employee said the store had determined that 22 guns had gone missing during Cho's tenure. The employee, who'd worked there for 12 years, told investigators "he had never known Wade's Eastside Guns to have misplaced, lost or had stolen this number of guns at one time," according to Wallace's statement.
"They have had guns not accounted for in the past, but … it was always one or two here and there, not this many at once," Wallace said in court documents.
Agents served a search warrant at Cho's home on March 26. Searching the house, investigators found 16 stolen firearms.
While in custody Cho admitted to stealing guns from his employer, Wallace said.
"He stated that he did it to get revenge for an earlier firearm sale he made at Wade's … in which he felt he was cheated out of money," Wallace said in court documents.
During a preliminary hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Cho was ordered to surrender his firearms and barred from leaving Western Washington, a U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman said. He is charged with possession of a stolen firearm and theft of a firearm from a federal firearms licensee.
Cho remains free pending an evidentiary hearing scheduled later this month