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Press Release

Five Charged With Possession Of 31 Stolen Firearms

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Utah
Firearms Taken During Storage Unit Burglary

            SALT LAKE CITY – A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment Wednesday morning charging five individuals with possession of 31 stolen firearms.  The firearms were taken during a December 2012 burglary at a storage unit on Redwood Road in Salt Lake City.  The five, who have prior felony convictions, also are charged with possession of firearms by a restricted person.

            Charged in the indictment are Todd Shawn Cook, age 38, of West Bountiful; John Trenton Boren, age 40, of Salt Lake City; John David Hobbs, age 30, and Robert Lee Biggs, age 49, both of West Valley City; and Kenneth Richard Cahoon, age 38, of Centerville. 

            Several agencies participated in the investigation, including the ATF, Salt Lake City Police, Grantsville Police, the Bountiful Police Department, and the Davis County Metro Narcotics Unit, among others.  The case is being prosecuted as a part of Utah Project Safe Neighborhoods, an initiative targeting gun violence and gang activity in Utah.

            According to a complaint filed in the case, officers from the Salt Lake City Police Department responded to the Diamond Storage facility on Redwood Road on Jan. 10, 2013, to investigate the burglary of a unit. The lock on the unit had been cut and items taken from the storage unit.  The exact date of the burglary was unknown at that time.

            The complaint alleges that approximately one week earlier, on Jan. 2, 2013, Biggs was  arrested for possessing a stolen vehicle and seven firearms which, given his status as a convicted felon, were illegal for him to have.  The seven firearms were later identified as being among the firearms stolen from the Diamond Storage unit.  As the investigation continued, law enforcement officers developed evidence they believe shows that Boren, Hobbs, and Cook were involved in the burglary and Cahoon and Biggs subsequently had possession of some of the stolen firearms. 

            Investigators also confirmed that Hobbs rented a unit at Diamond Storage that was approximately one building away from the burglarized unit.  Records from the storage facility also showed that Hobbs accessed the property on Dec. 20, 2012.

            The potential penalty for each count in the indictment is up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The five defendants are in custody.  Boren has a detention hearing Thursday at 10:30 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Warner. Hobbs has a detention hearing Thursday at 2 p.m., also before Magistrate Judge Warner.

            Indictments are not findings of guilt.  Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

Updated March 12, 2015

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