El Paso County Woman Sentenced To Federal Prison For Theft Of Firearms From Licensed Dealer

DENVER – Jennifer Scoggin, age 35, of El Paso County, Colorado, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martinez to serve 26 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years on supervised release for her involvement in the theft of firearms stolen from a federally licensed firearms dealer, announced U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn and ATF Denver Special Agent in Charge Debbie Livingston.  The defendant appeared at the sentencing hearing in custody, and was remanded at its conclusion.  Scoggin along with three codefendants and an unindicted juvenile stole close to 60 firearms from the Dragon Arms, a business in El Paso County.

Scoggin was indicted, along with her codefendants on September 14, 2017.  She pled guilty before Judge Martinez on October 1, 2018.  Scoggin was sentenced yesterday, February 6, 2019.  Codefendants Camron Specht (her 18-year-old son), and her son’s friends Ryan Sharpe and Gian Carlos Vance were all sentenced to time served followed by 3 years on supervised release. 

According to the stipulated facts contained in Scoggin’s plea agreement, on August 27, 2017, Scoggin along with codefendants and an unindicted juvenile, carried out a burglary of the Dragon Arms gun store, a federally licensed firearms dealer located at 1200 Dragonman Drive in El Paso County, Colorado.  The Dragon Arms gun store was just down the road from Scoggin’s house. 

The defendant came up with the plan to burglarize the gun store.  She agreed to drive her son and his friends to the store to carry out the burglary, and demanded that they take some guns for her as well.  The four young men got into the defendant’s car, and she covered them up with blankets and clothes to hide them from view.  She then drove to the gun store with the codefendants hidden inside of her car.  She parked the car in front of the gun store, and got out, leaving the men hidden in the car.  The defendant, who has a personal relationship with the owner of the gun store, lured him away from the store.  After the defendant and the gun store owner left, the codefendants and the juvenile made entry into the building by driving a vehicle through a garage door, entering the business and then leaving with at least 57 handguns, shotguns and rifles.  While her son and his friends were carrying out the burglary, the defendant repeatedly texted her son to let him know how much time he had remaining until she returned with the owner.  Later that night ATF agents located the defendant at her home, locating several of the stolen firearms in her house.  All stolen firearms were ultimately located and seized. 

“Removing stolen firearms from our streets helps reduce violent crime,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn.  “Targeting those who steal the firearms from stores which are then given to other criminals is even more important.  Congratulations to the entire team that investigated and prosecuted this case.”

“This case highlights the incredible work by our ATF Special Agents, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado Springs Police Department,” said ATF Denver Special Agent in Charge Debbie Livingston. “Scoggin’s criminal actions posed a threat to our society. I am very proud of the team that not only put her behind bars but also recovered 57 stolen firearms.”

This case was investigated by the ATF with assistance from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado Springs Police Department.  The defendant was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Treaster.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.