Defendant part of violent “smash and grab" organization
DENVER - United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn announced that Jonathan Estrada, a/k/a Hight, age 20, of Denver pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn to thefts of firearms from federal firearms licensees and carjacking. Estrada was part of a violent “smash and grab" organization that stole vehicles and burglarized federal firearms licensees (FFLs). The defendant appeared at the hearing in custody and was remanded at the hearing’s conclusion.
According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on Sept. 19, 2017, Estrada and another individual burglarized the Reloader’s Corner, an FFL in Arvada, Colorado. The defendant broke into the store by throwing rocks through glass. Seventeen firearms were stolen. Estrada’s DNA was found on the gun case counter.
On the morning of Dec. 26, 2017, the defendant and another individual committed an armed carjacking in Arvada in which they stole a 2008 white BMW. A shell casing was recovered at the scene.
Ten days later, on January 5, 2018, a concerned citizen told the Denver Police Department that his neighbors had discussed gun store burglaries and that one individual had been driving a white BMW. During a later search of the vehicle, officers found three of the firearms that had been stolen during the Reloader’s theft.
On Jan. 18, 2018, Estrada and five others burglarized Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply, an FFL in Littleton, again by throwing a rock through glass. They stole thirteen AR-15 style firearms and left in a stolen Nissan. That evening, ATF agents executed a search warrant at the defendant’s apartment. Agents found evidence related to the Sept. 19, 2017 and Jan. 18, 2018 FFL burglaries. The recovered evidence included: a shotgun stolen during the Reloader’s burglary; five firearms stolen during the Murdoch’s burglary; the Ruger 40 caliber pistol that had been fired during the armed carjacking; other firearms and ammunition; Murdoch’s gun sale tags; gloves and a ski mask; and a handwritten ledger on the defendant’s rent notice listing Murdochs and other locations to be burglarized. DNA recovered from the magazine of the pistol fired during the armed carjacking matched the defendant’s DNA. That specific firearm was carefully hidden inside the defendant’s apartment while other firearms were not.
This case was investigated by the ATF with assistance from the following law enforcement agencies: Arvada Police Department, Aurora Police Department, Denver Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Crime Lab, and Lakewood Police Department. The defendant is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Treaster.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
