A Chicago, Illinois, man was sentenced to a prison term in federal district court in connection with burglaries of several firearms dealers in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Denis M. Joiner, 20, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced in federal district court in East St. Louis to 108 months’ imprisonment, 3 years’ supervised release, and a $300 special assessment, following his plea of guilty, on Nov. 1, 2012, to an Indictment charging him with: Theft of Firearms from a Federal Firearms Licensee; Conspiracy to Steal Firearms from a Federal Firearms Licensee; and Possession Stolen Firearms.
Pleadings filed with the Court indicate that Joiner, together with three other Chicago men, burglarized DT Enterprises, also known as “Hunting Stuff," in Salem, Illinois, on Dec. 24, 2011, stealing 124 firearms, which they then took back to Chicago to sell. Law enforcement agents in Chicago learned of the conspirators’ identities after Joiner and a codefendant were caught shooting firearms into the air on Jan. 1, 2012. After arresting one of the co-defendants for the shooting, agents were able to match fingerprints from a tote box left at the scene to those of the four suspects. Agents also learned that tote boxes such as the one found at the scene were sold at Lowe’s in Carbondale; the agents then recovered security videos from Lowe’s showing the four suspects selecting and paying for such totes and other items at Lowe’s on Dec. 23, 2011. The four suspects in the Lowe’s video also appeared in DT Enterprises’ security video loading guns into the tote boxes.
One co-defendant, Kevin Winford, was sentenced Nov. 2, 2012, to 70 months’ imprisonment for his role in the crimes; another co-defendant, Antoine White, was sentenced Nov. 16, 2012, to 78 months’ imprisonment. The fourth conspirator, Earl Warner, was murdered in Chicago in January, 2012. Joiner’s sentence was higher than the others due to a greater criminal history and due to Joiner’s reckless flight from authorities prior to arrest.
Other gun shops victimized by the co-conspirators were: Maxon Shooters Supplies, Des Plaines, Illinois (190 guns stolen); Rinks Gun & Sport, Inc., Lockport, Illinois (34 guns stolen); Fletcher Gun, Waukeesha, Wisconsin (29 guns stolen); Deb’s Gun Range, Hammond, Indiana (30 guns stolen); The Gun Doctor, Roselle, Illinois (48 guns stolen).
The judge ordered restitution to all of the aforementioned victims.
The case was investigated by members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen B. Clark.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
