Possessor of gun gets 10-year term

Arms stolen from rig at truck stop

A Memphis man was sentenced to prison Thursday for possessing one of 107 guns stolen from the back of a tractor-trailer rig while it sat parked overnight at a truck stop near an Arkansas interstate.

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Curtis Earl Evans, 40, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in the case June 4. He is the second of four men charged in the theft of the guns to be sentenced. On Sept. 2, Mario Marquell Ward, also of Memphis, was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in the thefts.

The handguns, rifles and shotguns -- valued at $39,264 -- were stolen early Jan. 11 from one of about 80 big rigs burglarized during a period from late December through early February in Crittenden, Mississippi and St. Francis counties.

The rig was transporting the guns from a Gander Mountain distribution center in Indiana to the sporting-goods chain's stores in Texas. It was broken into while it was parked at a roadside parking area near mile marker 35 on southbound Interstate 55 in Mississippi County.

Agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said thieves used bolt cutters to open the backs of trucks so they could peek inside and determine if there were goods worth stealing. Not all the break-ins resulted in items being stolen.

Besides the guns, items stolen from other trucks included food and drinks, bicycles, computers and tires. At least five of the stolen computers were recovered in the Memphis area, according to court documents.

Agents said the break-ins occurred along I-55 between West Memphis and an area north of Turrell in Crittenden County, and on a stretch of Interstate 40 between Forrest City and West Memphis.

Evans was arrested Feb. 10 when agents investigating the thefts found him hiding in grass near a parking area on I-55 where several trucks had been broken into. A prosecutor said cases of stolen Kool-Aid and Capri Sun products were seen in the back of his vehicle, not far from his hiding spot.

Once captured, Evans identified Ward as the man officers had seen fleeing into the darkness earlier that night. Text messages found on Ward's cellphone revealed the men's involvement in several thefts, according to statements in court.

Evans faced a longer sentence than Ward because of his criminal history, which included convictions for aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and violating conditions of his parole.

In addition to his prison sentence, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes ordered Evans to help pay $152,902 in restitution.

The restitution so far has been imposed only on Ward and Evans. The third defendant in the case, Markeith Deshun Thomas, hasn't been sentenced on his Oct. 5 guilty plea to a charge of possessing stolen firearms. The fourth person charged in the case, Gerry McDuffie, has pleaded innocent and is scheduled for trial March 7.

Metro on 11/13/2015

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