4 more people charged in alleged Columbia gun theft ring
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Four more people have been charged after more than 20 stolen guns were recovered in Columbia this week.
Two people were initially charged on Thursday after 14 guns were found in an apartment and vehicle on Radcliffe Drive while police served a search warrant Wednesday, according to court documents. Another nine were found in a bag in Kiwanis Park. Court documents now say 10 of the 23 guns were stolen from Macon County.
Kayla Dugan, 36, of Columbia, was charged with two counts of illegal gun possession, one count of stealing a gun and drug possession. Justin Shelton, 30, of Columbia, was charged with two counts of illegal gun possession and one count of stealing a gun. Dugan is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. Shelton’s name did not appear on the online jail roster on Friday afternoon.
Dugan has a hearing scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday and a preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m. April 25. Dugan appeared in court Friday by video from the jail. Shelton had an initial court appearance on Friday.
Prosecutors filed charges Friday against Gerald Bell, 44, of Centralia; Thomas Abbey Jr., 37, of Columbia; Robert Ruble, 38, of Columbia; and Tyrone Sabb, 49, of Columbia. Bell, Abbey and Sabb were listed on the Boone County Jail roster on Friday afternoon. Ruble was not listed on the jail roster, though he appeared on the county arrest report.
Bell is charged with illegal gun possession and stealing a gun. Abbey is charged with illegal gun possession, stealing a gun and drug possession. Ruble is charged with receiving stolen property, drug possession and unlawful use of a gun. Sabb is charged with receiving stolen property, four counts of illegal gun possession and two counts of armed criminal action.
The probable cause statement says Bell drove Dugan to Macon County to steal the guns. Shelton allegedly told investigators that Bell was attempting to sell the guns and had “been involved since the guns arrived at the house.” Court documents claim Bell admitted to handling guns and trying to find buyers.
Another statement says that a SWAT team served a warrant at Abbey’s residence on Dickinson Drive on Thursday after Dugan allegedly told police she sold guns to Abbey. Police allegedly found a stolen gun and methamphetamine at the residence, the statement says. Abbey was arrested during a traffic stop.
Abbey told police that he was with another person when they bought two guns from Dugan and that the guns were traded for a Dodge truck, the statement says.
Another probable cause statement says Dugan sold guns to Ruble and a search warrant was executed at his home near Boone Hospital on Bass Avenue on Thursday. Police wrote that a stolen gun was found along with methamphetamine. Ruble was arrested during a traffic stop and allegedly told police that he thought the gun was stolen “because he only paid $150 for the gun,” the probable cause statement says.
Dugan also admitted to selling guns to Sabb, who was identified through CashApp’s online database, the statement says. Four guns were found at Sabb’s residence near Rock Quarry Park, one of which was from Macon County, according to the statement. Sabb was arrested and told police that he didn’t ask where the guns came from “but assumed it was stolen based on the situation in which he obtained it,” court documents say.
The Columbia Police Department later wrote in a press release that it had also arrested Tayon Moorehead, 41, and Ronald McIntire, 46, both of Columbia. A total of 34 guns were recovered during the eight arrests. Charges were not filed on Friday afternoon for Moorehead and McIntire. McIntire was described in Abbey's probable cause statement.
