The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

December 15, 2009

Guilty plea in gun theft case

Very few guns recovered after September theft

By Dan Nienaber

MANKATO — One of several people linked to the theft of weapons from a Lake Crystal gun dealer has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possession of stolen property.

Davarian Javelle Clark, 19, made the plea during a court hearing Tuesday. A second charge of giving police a false name was dismissed in the plea agreement. Prosecutors also agreed to follow the recommendations from a pre-sentence investigation when Clark is sentenced next month.

Witnesses told investigators Clark was one of several people who received the stolen guns after they were taken from the residence on Sept. 19 or Sept. 20. The two men accused of taking the guns — which included military collector pistols and assault rifles — are 18-year-old Lake Crystal residents Brandon Dewaine Thornburg-Spear and Michael Ryan Roalson.

The owner of the guns lives in Lake Crystal but was storing them at his parents’ house outside the city limits. The victim’s brother lives with their parents and was showing the guns to friends, according to court records.

There were 21 guns stolen, but only three of them were recovered immediately by Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Department and federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigators.

Investigators suspect that at least some of the weapons were stashed at a residence in the 100 block of Laurinda Lane.

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