KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covered the original gun burglary and spoke with the owner of Blue Steel Guns and Ammo in Raytown. If you have a story idea for Alyssa, please send her an email at alyssa.jackson@kshb.com.
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An Olathe man pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to a smash-and-grab gun store burglary and possession of child pornography on his personal cell phone.
Frank Guereca, 23, entered guilty pleas on one count of stealing firearms from a federal licensee and one count of transportation of child pornography, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Kansas City, Missouri.
The gun shop smash-and-grab occurred on June 16, 2023, at Blue Steel Guns and Ammo in Raytown.
Guereca and two other men stole a U-Haul truck in Leavenworth, used the U-Haul to drive into the shop and quickly grabbed 41 guns. The U-Haul was later found in Kansas City, Kansas.
"You didn't have to walk in, all you had to do was pull in the parking lot," Steve Brackeen, owner of Blue Steel Guns & Ammo, told KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson. "When I saw the giant hole, we realized a car came through it."It's all on video — the stolen U-Haul truck backing through the business. Three people are seen coming from the back, with a fourth driving the truck. It's not easy to break into the shop."
The news release states one stolen pistol was recovered in Tracy, California, on Nov. 14, 2023, a second gun was found in Mexico and a third in Juarez, Mexico.
When Guereca was arrested on April 25, 2024, as he tried to cross back into the United States from Mexico, law officers found about 250 images of child pornography and 70 videos of child pornography.
He crossed the border between Mexico and the United States about 20 times since the gun store burglary.
The release states Guereca could spend up to 10 years in federal prison without parole on the gun burglary and up to 20 years in prison without parole on the child pornography charge.
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