I Love a Happy Ending...
http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=cc7a9d8b34b45648
SANTA FE - A Galveston County justice of the peace praised the efforts of police and a newspaper Tuesday after his two guns commemorating World War II battles were recovered.
Two men, one of whom is in custody, are accused of trading the guns for crack cocaine, said Santa Fe Police Chief Barry Cook.
A pair of silver, Colt. 45-caliber, semi-automatic handguns that are engraved with battle names from the Asian-Pacific and European theaters of operations were stolen Jan. 13, police said, after someone broke into Justice of the Peace Mike Nelson's Precinct 4 office in Santa Fe.
After a Jan. 19 story was published about the theft in The Daily News, Cook said a tip led to the recovery of both guns, and police have charged two Santa Fe men in the theft.
Police arrested Brandon Slachta, 19, and have issued warrants and put up wanted posters in hopes of finding Brandon Culbreth, 18.
Cook said Slachta was charged with theft of a firearm, which is a felony. He remained in the Galveston County Jail on a $26,000 bond Tuesday.
Culbreth has a warrant for his arrest on the same charge and bond, Cook said.
"A tip led to one of the defendants, Slachta, and during the course of the investigation he led us to where he'd gotten rid of the guns," Cook said.
The man who took the guns hasn't been charged with receiving stolen property because of his cooperation with investigators, Cook said.
Two other guns, including one police said was reported stolen, were recovered during the investigation, Cook said.
Nelson said both men had been in his office and saw the guns stored in cases on his bookshelf next to a ground-level window.
"One of them, Culbreth, I'd helped in the past," Nelson said. "Sometimes you get bit trying to help somebody, but I'm not going to let that deter me from trying to help other young fellows."
Nelson said he was grateful for having both guns returned, and he intends to make good on a $500 reward to the person who helped police recover the weapons.
The guns, which were Model 1911s, have matching serial numbers and were valued at $5,000 each, Nelson said. Neither had been fired before the theft, he said.
"They did fire the guns, and their integrity has been violated," Nelson said. "So I am most likely going to sue for the dollar value of the guns in the civil court. By firing them, they violated the integrity of what they're worth. That'll haunt them down for years, also."
SANTA FE - A Galveston County justice of the peace praised the efforts of police and a newspaper Tuesday after his two guns commemorating World War II battles were recovered.
Two men, one of whom is in custody, are accused of trading the guns for crack cocaine, said Santa Fe Police Chief Barry Cook.
A pair of silver, Colt. 45-caliber, semi-automatic handguns that are engraved with battle names from the Asian-Pacific and European theaters of operations were stolen Jan. 13, police said, after someone broke into Justice of the Peace Mike Nelson's Precinct 4 office in Santa Fe.
After a Jan. 19 story was published about the theft in The Daily News, Cook said a tip led to the recovery of both guns, and police have charged two Santa Fe men in the theft.
Police arrested Brandon Slachta, 19, and have issued warrants and put up wanted posters in hopes of finding Brandon Culbreth, 18.
Cook said Slachta was charged with theft of a firearm, which is a felony. He remained in the Galveston County Jail on a $26,000 bond Tuesday.
Culbreth has a warrant for his arrest on the same charge and bond, Cook said.
"A tip led to one of the defendants, Slachta, and during the course of the investigation he led us to where he'd gotten rid of the guns," Cook said.
The man who took the guns hasn't been charged with receiving stolen property because of his cooperation with investigators, Cook said.
Two other guns, including one police said was reported stolen, were recovered during the investigation, Cook said.
Nelson said both men had been in his office and saw the guns stored in cases on his bookshelf next to a ground-level window.
"One of them, Culbreth, I'd helped in the past," Nelson said. "Sometimes you get bit trying to help somebody, but I'm not going to let that deter me from trying to help other young fellows."
Nelson said he was grateful for having both guns returned, and he intends to make good on a $500 reward to the person who helped police recover the weapons.
The guns, which were Model 1911s, have matching serial numbers and were valued at $5,000 each, Nelson said. Neither had been fired before the theft, he said.
"They did fire the guns, and their integrity has been violated," Nelson said. "So I am most likely going to sue for the dollar value of the guns in the civil court. By firing them, they violated the integrity of what they're worth. That'll haunt them down for years, also."
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Happy ending indeed...except for the guns being fired part. 0 -
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