RENO, Nev. — A Winnemucca man who admitted to organizing a robbery and stealing more than two dozen firearms from a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) was sentenced today to 72 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
George Wyatt Elms (34) pleaded guilty in November 2021 to one count of theft of firearms from the premises of a Federal Firearms Licensee. In addition to the prison term, Chief U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du ordered Elms to pay $17,187.96 in restitution.
According to court documents, on February 19, 2020, Elms and two other individuals broke into a hardware store in Winnemucca by removing a panel in the roof, dropping down approximately ten feet onto a nearby staircase, and then breaking through the store’s door. Once inside, they broke into a gun case and stole 25 firearms. Before carrying out the robbery, they had intentionally set a fire in a nearby field to divert law enforcement away from the store.
Co-defendant Travis Klyn pleaded guilty in September 2021, and he is scheduled to be sentenced on March 4, 2022.
Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Patrick Gorman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the ATF and Winnemucca Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Rachow and Andolyn Johnson prosecuted the case.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. For more information about PSN, visit www.justice.gov/usao-nv.
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