NORFOLK, Va. - Tehran Townsend, 30, of Norfolk, Va., pled guilty today in Norfolk federal court to stealing, taking, and carrying away firearms from the Armory Gun Shop in Virginia Beach in January 2010.   Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after United States Magistrate Judge F. Bradford Stillman accepted the guilty plea for United States District Judge Mark S. Davis.   Townsend is scheduled to be sentenced on December 16, 2010.

Previously on September 2, 2010, co-defendant Roshawn D. Turner, 25, of Norfolk, Virginia was sentenced in Norfolk federal court to 10 years in prison for his role in the theft.    Co-conspirator, Delvon Gray, 19, of Norfolk, pled guilty to similar charges in Virginia Beach Circuit Court and is awaiting sentencing. 

According to court documents, Townsend climbed on to the roof of the Armory and made a hole in the roof to get the 27 handguns.   The handguns were later sold to individuals in Norfolk and New York.   According to Court documents, the three had also stolen 13 firearms from a gun store in Gaston, North Carolina four days earlier.

This case was investigated by the Virginia Beach and Norfolk Police Departments and the ATF.  Assistant United States Attorney Kevin M. Comstock prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.

 

 

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