$50,000 Cash Bonds for 2 Accused of Gun Theft

Sturtevant police say two young men from Kenosha are charged with felonies after they stole guns and ammunition from a village residence.

Justin Jones, 18, was charged Wednesday in Racine County Circuit Court with single felony counts of burglary, three felony counts of theft and one missdemeanor count of obstructing an officer. If convicted, he faces up to 19 years in jail and/or up to $90,000 in fines.

Aaron Peters, 19, was also charged Wednesday in Racine County Circuit Court. He faces single counts each of felony burglary, criminal damage to property, theft and possession of burglary tools. If convicted, he faces up to 25-1/2 years in jail and/or up to $80,000 in fines.

According to their criminal complaints, Sturtevant police were called at 3:10 a.m. Tuesday to an apartment building in the 3000 block of 86th Street for a report of persons wearing masks and hoodies outside. The caller told police they believed the individuals were armed.

When police arrived, they say they observed three people running through the parking lot of the apartment building. Two of them were carrying black bags or backpacks and one had a black case. Officers say they saw them get into silver Trans Am parked in the 8600 block of Buckingham Drive.

Officers from both Sturtevant and Mount Pleasant responded to the scene and ordered the occupants of the car to exit the vehicle. Peters surrendered to police without incident, the complaint reads, but Jones resisted, and police deployed their tasers to take him into custody. The third person was not in the vehicle.

Police say they talked to the residents of the apartment, and they said they have known the defendants for years and were sleeping when the break-in occurred. They went to bed after 1 a.m. and didn’t know anything until police were at the door. One of the residents said their cell phone and firearms were missing from the home.

When he was interviewed by police, Jones said he was sleeping in the car, but Peters said they knew there were guns in the apartment. Despite residents being home during the burglary, Peters said he and Jones decided to go through with it anyway, the complaint reads.

All told, police recovered:

• 1 Sig Sauer Mosquito .22 cal. semi-automatic pistol
• 1 Llama Minimax x9 .9mm Luger semi-automatic pistol
• 1 Randall .45 Auto pistol
• Box containing 50 rounds, .45 automatic ammunition
• Box containing 40 rounds, 9mm ammunition
• Box containing 60 rounds, 22LR ammunition
• Sig Sauer Handgun Upper Rail Assembly with NCSTAR Red Dot Scope
• 6 gun magazines
• 6 loose rounds, 7.62 x 39 mm ammunition
• Box of Tul Ammo ammunition
• Box of Tul Ammo .308 Win ammunition
• Box containing 35 rounds of .40 mm ammunition
• 1 Intratec TEC-9 9mm semi-automatic handgun
• 2 swords

Inside the car, police also found the missing cell phone, a crowbar and clothing matching the description witnesses gave to dispatch.

Both Jones and Peters were assigned $50,000 cash bonds during their initial appearances Wednesday. They will have their preliminary hearings on Aug. 6.