Duo Steals Dead Man’s Guns
Grabbed Safe out of Home; More than 30 Weapons Recovered
Two men were arrested earlier this month, reported Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Drew Sugars, who stole dozens of guns from the home of a man who had recently passed away.
On August 3, wrote Sugars in a press release, detectives were told that someone had broken into a home on the 4600 block of Atasco Drive, the owner of which had died a month previous.
Authorities figured out that a large gun safe filled with assault rifles, shotguns, and pistols had been taken, eventually determining that a next-door neighbor, Joe Luis Lopez, moved the safe to his home before taking it somewhere else.
On the morning of August 18, Sugars continued, Sheriff’s detectives and an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives served a search warrant at a home on the 5000 block of Ella Lane and found the stolen guns. More than 30 were recovered, said Sugars.
Lopez and James Allan Dunning, who lives in the Ella Lane residence, were booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of residential burglary and various drug-related charges. Both of their bails are set at $50,000.
