Second suspect arrested in connection to massive gun heist
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A second suspect in the theft of nearly 400 guns from a United Parcel Service facility in Tennessee is in custody. Kim Nerheim, a spokeswoman at the Chicago office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), said Wednesday that Roland Jackson, 24, is now in custody.
Nerheim declined further comment, including where or when Jackson was arrested. Another suspect, Taveyan Turnbo, 18, was detained earlier after a three- to four-hour manhunt.
Authorities seized about 365 Ruger .22-caliber and .380-caliber firearms after police officers responded to a call about suspicious activity in the southern Chicago suburb of Midlothian on Sunday afternoon, about 12 hours after the guns were stolen from a UPS facility in Memphis.
The ATF had said the guns being shipped from North Carolina were taken by two men in a U-Haul truck. ATF spokesman Michael Knight said the truck was recovered along with the guns.
Court documents said officers found the truck at a store parking lot in Midlothian and questioned Jackson and Turnbo before they both ran away.
The Midlothian Illinois Police Department posted an image of Jackson on Facebook with the words "In Police Custody" across his face.
Federal prosecutors have charged Turnbo with possession of stolen firearms and court documents said he denied taking part in the theft at the UPS facility. Jackson faces federal charges of being a convicted felon illegally possessing firearms.
Court documents indicated that Turnbo told investigators he and Jackson had sold at least three of the guns for a total of $400.
The number of stolen firearms makes it one of the largest single gun thefts the ATF has investigated, Knight said earlier.
UPS said it is cooperating with law enforcement.