El Paso - Burglars setting sights on gun stores in area
Burglars setting sights on gun stores in area
By Daniel Borunda \ El Paso Times
05/24/2012
Burglars have been hitting gun stores in early morning burglaries in El Paso and Las Cruces.
The latest break-in occurred Saturday, when two men wearing hooded sweatshirts stole firearms from a military surplus store in Las Cruces. The case is the third such burglary, including one unsuccessful attempt, this month in the El Paso-Las Cruces area.
About 2 a.m. Saturday, two men broke into Strykers Command Bunker at 415 S. Valley in Las Cruces, police said. Police said the burglars took several firearms and might have left in a black two-door sports car.
The number and types of firearms stolen in each burglary were not disclosed. No arrests have been made.
El Paso police spokesman Officer Javier Sambrano said burglars on May 7 struck two gun shops in West El Paso in cases that detectives think are linked.
At 1:40 a.m., a rock was used to break a window at Country Wide Shooters, but, because of security bars, the thieves were unable to enter the shop at 3950 Doniphan, police said. Because there was no entry, the incident was labeled criminal mischief, Sambrano said.
Seventeen minutes later, a hunting supply store three miles away was burglarized.
At 1:57 a.m., burglars broke a glass front door, entered and stole several firearms from Sportsman's Elite, 7500 N. Mesa, police said.
"Detectives do believe they probably were trying to do a burglary (at Country Wide Shooters) due to the time of occurrence, its similarity to the other (burglary) and the location," Sambrano said.
Investigations are trying to determine whether the burglaries in both cities are linked. Las Cruces Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and solves the firearm burglary. Tipsters may call Las Cruces Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
Anyone with information on the El Paso burglaries may call El Paso police at 832-4400 or Crime Stoppers of El Paso at 566-8477.
Burglars setting sights on gun stores in area - El Paso Times
