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RACINE — A 24-year-old Milwaukee man is charged with felony theft after he allegedly stole a handgun from a Racine woman he met through Facebook.

If he’s convicted of the theft charge, Justen Smith faces a maximum possible prison term of six years and a $10,000 fine. Smith also is charged with being a felon in possession of a handgun, which carries a possible prison term of 10 years and a $25,000 fine.

In addition, Smith, who remains in custody in the Racine County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond, is also charged with misdemeanor possession of THC. All three charges carry a repeat offender enhancer.

The criminal complaint: Felony theft of 9mm gun

A woman told Racine Police in June that Smith, whose Facebook profile was “Justo Dashaun,” stayed at her house overnight. He allegedly asked the woman about a gun she had in a gun box, and she let him look at it but return it to the box.

The following morning, Smith left, and about 10 minutes later when “she felt something was not right,” the woman got up and immediately noticed the gun was missing. She stated she tried to contact Smith via Facebook and Snapchat, but he had blocked her, so she called the police to report the theft.

No other adults were in the home that night, the woman stated. She added the door was locked, and they had gone to sleep around 2 or 3 a.m. Purchase records showed she bought the 9mm semi-automatic Ruger last October.

Police were able to identify Smith through jail booking photos and compared them to Facebook screenshots, the complaint states.

On July 8, the woman called the police and stated that Smith had contacted her. He stated, “that he had made a mistake and needed quick cash.” He offered to pay her between $400 and $500 for the gun, and the two agreed to meet. When the woman picked him up, police stopped the vehicle in the area of Washington and Flett Avenues in Racine.

Smith was taken into custody, and during a search, police found what later tested positive for 11.9 grams of THC.

Criminal court records show that Smith was convicted of felony burglary as a party to a crime in Milwaukee County.

Smith is due back in Racine County Circuit Court on July 19, for an 8:30 a.m. preliminary hearing.

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