Police recover 8 guns believed to have been stolen in December

Eight guns recovered Sunday were believed to have been stolen from homes in a series of burglaries southwest of Columbia in December, the Boone County Sheriff’s Department said.

Six of the eight guns, including long guns, shotguns and a black powder firearm, were recovered after deputies served a warrant Sunday afternoon in the 4300 block of Bethany Drive. A resident in the 4500 block of Southview Drive, a block north of Bethany Drive, found two rifles Sunday in a vacant duplex. The guns appear to be from several of the eight homes burglarized in the Bellview Acres and Country Hill subdivisions in December, Detective Mike Stubbs said.

“What we’ve recovered matches what was taken in a particular burglary,” he said.

Early Sunday morning, deputies responded to complaints from several residents in the 4500 block of Southview Drive that they had heard gunshots. Deputies saw people running from the scene. Two of three juveniles arrested Sunday were released to their parents, but one remained in custody Monday afternoon on suspicion of resisting arrest and disturbing the peace. Stubbs declined to say if the juveniles were suspects in the burglaries.

Chris Gibbons, who lives with her family in the 4500 block of Southview Drive, said her next door neighbor was burglarized. The recent incidents in her neighborhood have her taking extra precautions in her home. She removes her keys from her car in her garage and deadbolts the back door. She also leaves her lights on in her house when she is gone.

“I now keep an eye out,” she said. “I look out the window frequently. I keep my light on when I am up.”

Stubbs said that the burglaries seem to be connected because similar entry points were used and similar property such as rifles, shotguns, electronic items and jewelry were stolen from the homes in December.

Stubbs said that residents in the two subdivisions shouldn’t be concerned.

“They ought to be somewhat relieved that we’ve been able to identify the juveniles that are responsible for this, and that we have recovered some of the items reported stolen,” he said, adding two handguns are still missing.

The investigation is ongoing. Stubbs said the investigation and the examination of the recovered property may lead to more arrests and new charges.