More than 60 guns stolen in two Springfield burglaries

Less than two weeks after burglars stole more than 50 guns in a heist that wasn’t discovered until the next morning, Letz Hunt and Sport is back in business.

Sydney Letz has been selling guns from the small shop adjacent to his east side home for more than 20 years ago. The Oct. 9 burglary – the first ever at his shop, Letz says – was accomplished with remarkable ease.

The alleged culprits were hardly criminal masterminds. Jimmie Burrage, 19, and someone whose name is redacted from police reports visited the store the day before the heist, according to police reports. Burrage doesn’t have a Firearms Owner Identification card and so cannot legally own a gun. His sidekick, a convicted felon, also can’t have a gun, according to reports. Someone – it isn’t clear from reports who – picked up a handgun during the visit, while Letz was busy and appeared ready to steal it when they became startled and put the gun back in a display case and left the store, according to a police report.

The next day, around 10 p.m., burglars kicked in the shop door, smashed a display case with a chunk of asphalt and hauled off 54 guns, according to police reports. Police found a holster and price tags in a mobile home park across the street. Police found a .22-caliber revolver in a dresser drawer in the bedroom of Burrage’s mother. Burrage has been charged with five felonies, including theft, burglary and possession of a stolen firearm. Police also have arrested Louis Lasalle of Chatham, 18, and three juveniles whose names haven’t been released by authorities.

According to a police report, Letz told an officer that he might have accidentally disarmed a burglar alarm when closing up on the night of the heist; Letz disputes this in an interview, saying that the alarm malfunctioned. Letz says he’s learned at least one thing from the heist: He needed a stronger door, and so he has installed one with steel bars. He says he’s making a number of other security upgrades.

But guns remain within easy reach at Letz’s shop, where dozens of shotguns and rifles, none with trigger guards or other locks, are displayed on racks on the sales floor. None of the guns in display cases or behind counters are secured with trigger guards or other locks. This is contrary to recommendations from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which advises dealers not to allow customers access to unsecured guns during business hours.

Why doesn’t Letz keep guns behind the counter instead of on the sales floor? Letz says that that he doesn’t have sufficient room.

The ATF also suggests that dealers take steps to secure inventory after closing time.

“The best business practice is to remove all firearms from display cases and racks and place them in a gun vault at night,” the ATF recommends on its website. “As an alternative, some businesses utilize reinforced display cases with shatterproof glass.”

More than 4,700 guns were stolen last year by burglars nationwide who targeted gun dealers, according to the ATF. Burglaries at gun stores are relatively rare in Illinois, according to ATF statistics that show burglars hit five Illinois gun dealers last year, with 110 guns stolen. In 2014, when burglars nationwide stole nearly 4,300 guns, the ATF tallied three burglaries at Illinois gun dealers, with 74 guns taken.

So far this year, there have been at least two burglaries at Springfield gun shops, with more than 60 guns stolen. Burglars last April broke into Farm and Home Supply on North Dirksen Parkway, smashing glass display cases and stealing 10 handguns.

Determined burglars can defeat alarms and steel bars, as evidenced by a number of smashand-grab thefts around the country pulled off by thieves who drove vehicles through the doors or walls of gun stores, then grabbed as many weapons as they could before police arrived. Nevertheless, a handful of states have laws that require firearms dealers to take minimum steps to discourage burglaries.

In Minnesota, shops that display 50 or fewer handguns at a time must lock weapons up with a steel cable placed through trigger guards after business hours or secure them in a locked safe or cabinet. There are more stringent requirements for larger dealers. In New Jersey, gun dealers must submit security plans to state police, who have authority to ensure compliance with security requirements that can include such measures as alarms, barred windows and doors and a means to lock up weapons after business hours. Massachusetts has similar requirements, and also bans gun shops in residential neighborhoods.

ATF statistics suggest that state laws requiring security measures might make a difference. New Jersey had just one burglary at a firearms dealer in 2014 and 2015, with two guns stolen. During that same two-year period, there were two burglaries reported at Massachusetts gun dealers, with 13 weapons stolen. Minnesota gun dealers reported 63 guns stolen in 10 burglaries during that same time frame. On average, burglars in these states stole six guns per heist; in Illinois, the average take per burglary during the same time frame was 23 guns.

Democratic legislators in Illinois last year introduced a bill that would have required gun dealers to get state licenses and comply with minimum security requirements. The bill has yet to get a hearing.

Contact Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com.