ATF: Hundreds of guns stolen in Memphis seized near Chicago

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Most of the roughly 400 guns that were stolen from a United Parcel Service facility in Tennessee have been recovered in the Chicago area, federal authorities said.

Authorities seized about 365 Ruger .22-caliber and .380-caliber firearms after police officers responded to a call about suspicious activity in the southern Chicago suburb of Midlothian on Sunday afternoon – about 12 hours after the guns were taken from a UPS facility in Memphis, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent said in court documents Tuesday.

Illegal purchases or guns thefts channeling into Chicago is a common occurence. As The Spokesman-Review reported, on June 8, 2017 Alex Spooner walked into a pawn shop in Hayden, Idaho, and purchased guns to sell to a felon referred to as “T.B.” Eight days later, one of the guns was involved in a shooting in Chicago.

ATF had said the guns being shipped from a Ruger factory in North Carolina were taken by two men in a U-Haul truck. ATF spokesman Michael Knight said the truck was recovered along with the guns.

Court documents said officers found the truck at a store parking lot in Midlothian and questioned 24-year-old Roland Jackson of Chicago and 18-year-old Taveyan Turnbo before they both ran away.

Turnbo was arrested hours later and faces federal charges of possessing stolen firearms. Court documents said he denied taking part in the theft at the UPS facility.

On Wednesday, the ATF announced that Jackson had been taken into custody. A spokeswoman declined to say where and when he was arrested. Jackson faces federal charges of being a convicted felon illegally possessing firearms.

Court documents indicated that Turnbo told investigators he and Jackson had sold at least three of the guns for a total of $400.

The estimate of 400 stolen firearms makes it one of the largest single gun thefts the ATF has investigated, Knight said.

UPS said it is cooperating with law enforcement.

Updates with arrest of 2nd suspect.

AP-WF-10-03-18 2022GMT