A 33-year-old Tampa man has been arrested and charged in connection with a string of gun-store thefts in Lakeland, officials said.
Oscar Garcia is charged in connection with the Christmas Eve burglary of Guns Galore on U.S. 92 East; the Jan. 9 break-in at Rapture Guns and Knives on U.S. 98 North; and a second break-in at Guns Galore on Jan. 29, a federal criminal complaint said.
In the first burglary at Guns Galore, investigators said an individual allegedly made off with 11 handguns and an AR-15 assault-style rifle.
Two individuals allegedly broke into Rapture Guns and Knives and stole 58 handguns, officials said.
The second burglary at Guns Galore resulted in the theft of 46 handguns, the criminal complaint said.
Investigators were tipped off about Garcia’s possible connection to the burglaries when Tampa police recovered one of the stolen handguns during a Feb. 1 traffic stop.
A confidential source told investigators that two individuals had recently obtained a “batch” of firearms and that they had come across two other “batches” not long before, the criminal complaint said.
Garcia, known by the confidential source by the nickname “Flaco,” was identified as a suspect during the investigation into the burglaries, officials said.
When interviewed, Garcia allegedly told agents that he only participated in the burglary of Rapture Guns and Knives but that another man was there for all three, the criminal complaint said.
Garcia was identified as a maintenance worker at Berkley Preparatory School in Tampa, court documents said.
He was arrested and charged with federal firearm theft.
Cox Media Group
