FORNEY, Texas — A 23-year-old man is set to appear before a federal judge in connection with a stolen firearm linked to a burglary at a Forney gun store earlier this year.
FORNEY, Texas — A 23-year-old man is set to appear before a federal judge in connection with a stolen firearm linked to a burglary at a Forney gun store earlier this year.
Several others, possibly including a juvenile, are also facing charges in connection with a separate burglary at the same location which was perpetrated less than two months from the first burglary.
CYA Guns and Ammo, located at 206 East U.S. Highway 80, was burglarized April 18, 2017, and again on June 4, 2017. Several guns, including pistols and rifles, were reportedly stolen in each incident. Police believe two different parties carried out the burglaries.
Police caught a break in the first case after an AR-15, reported stolen during the first CYA Guns & Ammo burglary, was recovered in connection with a search warrant executed at the home of 23-year-old Coredarius Douglas — who was suspected in two home burglaries in Highland Park in April.
OnStar, equipped in a truck stolen during one of the Highland Park burglaries, led police to Douglas at the time. The search warrant revealed the AR-15 as well as property from the Highland Park burglaries.
Douglas was booked into the Ellis County Jail on several probation violations and the Highland Park charges.
On July 12, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Douglas on one count of convicted felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm. On July 27, 2017, U.S. Marshals served an arrest warrant at the Ellis County Jail and remanded Douglas into the custody of the federal government.
Yesterday, August 2, 2017, United States District Judge Ed Kinkeade ordered a jury trial in Douglas’ case for Monday, October 2, 2017, at 9 a.m. in the Northern District of Texas.
Douglas has three previous felony convictions for burglary of a habitation in Ellis County, theft of property in Ellis County, and fraudulent use of identifying information in Dallas County, according to court records.
Police say Douglas’ modus operandi was to perpetrate burglaries and other crimes alone which, investigators believe, is the case in the first CYA Guns & Ammo burglary incident. Douglas faces additional federal charges for burglary of a federal firearms licensee.
In the second case, the Forney Police Department arrested 17-year-old Brian Morales earlier this week and charged him with burglary of a building and engaging in organized criminal activity. He is being held at the Kaufman County Jail on a $50,000 bond and a $100,000 bond, respectively.
Police say Morales is one of possibly four teenagers and a minor involved in the second burglary.
Additional arrests and charges are pending in the case which remains active and open. The ATF arrested 19-year-old Matias Morales last month, also in connection with the second CYA burglary, according to a federal complaint, recently unsealed and obtained by inForney.com.
Matias Morales is currently jailed at the Kaufman County Jail on a federal contract for inmate housing. He is facing charges for theft from a federal firearms licensee and possession of a stolen firearm, according to the federal complaint.
The federal complaint alleges Matias Morales, with four unnamed individuals, burglarized Euless Guns & Ammo in Euless, Texas, on May 27, 2017, where 39 firearms were stolen; burglarized CYA Guns & Ammo in Forney, Texas, with an alleged three other individuals on June 4, 2017, where 16 firearms were stolen; and burglarized Texas Dollar Pawn in Wylie, Texas, with five other individuals on June 7, 2017, where two firearms were stolen.
Matias Morales and four others were arrested after allegedly casing two gun stores in Waxahachie, Texas, and later leading the Ennis Police Department on a high-speed chase before wrecking on an Interstate 45 exit ramp.
Arrested in that incident were Brian Morales, Matias Morales, 18-year-old Jacob Krabbe of Irving, Texas, and 18-year-old Dears Bradley of Dallas, Texas, and an unnamed minor believed to be 15-years-old, according to the federal complaint.
Following Matias Morales’ arrest, the ATF recovered a rifle and a revolver in Matias’ bedroom at his Irving residence. The rifle, a DPMS AR-15, was stolen in the Texas Dollar Pawn burglary and the revolver, a Ruger revolver, was stolen from the CYA Guns & Ammo burglary.
Forney police say additional arrests and charges in the second burglary will be announced in the coming days. Additional information is also expected in a press release later today or tomorrow.
