NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WVEC) -- Police arrested five teenagers in connection with a gun shop burglary that took place on September 23.
Someone in the group drove a stolen car into The Marksman Firearms Training Center & Indoor Shooting Range. He and two other people grabbed 24 guns then ran out of the building.
Security cameras recorded the burglary which owner George McClain said took less than a minute.
Police arrested 18-year-old Robert Wayles Watkins IV, two 16-year-old boys, and two 15-year-old boys. Watkins is a convicted felon.
"Where's mom and dad? That was the first thing I thought about. When I see ages, where's mom and dad?" McClain said Tuesday.
"It makes you wonder if they didn't have someone much older, much more mature coaching them on what to do," shared McClain. "It was very well thought out. They had their time plan laid out, you know, in and out in 57 seconds."
Of the 24 guns that were taken, police recovered at least eight of them.
"The biggest thing is we don't want to see firearms on the street, you know, in the hand of the gangs, or in the hands of kids, or anyone that hasn't had proper training, or is a felon," McClain told 13News Now.
McClain said in making repairs, the building as will be fortified as well as the display cases inside the store.
"You expect something like this would be adults maybe on hard times, you know kids, you go home and enjoy life. You know everyone says you only live once. You live every day. You only die once," shared McClain. "It's a failure of parents. I mean, I have to put the blame back on that. If you're not raising your kids right, this is the circumstance that we find them in."
The suspects are charged as followed:
Watkins has been charged with one count each of burglary, grand larceny of a firearm, felony destruction to property, receiving stolen property and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and three counts of conspiracy to commit a felony.
A 16-year-old Newport News male has been charged with one count each of burglary and grand larceny, receiving a stolen firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm by a juvenile and two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony.
A second 16-year-old Newport News male has been charged with three counts each of receiving a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm by a juvenile.
A 15-year-old Newport News male has been charged with one count each of discharging a firearm in a public place, receiving a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm by a juvenile.
A second 15-year-old Newport News male has been charged with two counts each of receiving a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm by a juvenile.
Watkins is currently being held at the Newport News City Jail, while all four juveniles are in the custody of the Secure Detention Center.
Anyone with information about this case, in particular the location of the firearms that have not yet been recovered, is asked to call Newport News Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
