Police charge four with stealing guns

Four boys were arrested Monday attempting to steal rifles from a Main Street gun shop, according to a press release from the Clovis Police Department.

The four boys, ranging in age from 12 to 14 years old, are being held on charges of aggravated burglary, attempted larceny of firearms, criminal damage and unlawful assembly, the release said.

Responding to a security alarm around 10:30 p.m. Monday at R&S Gun Shop, officers arrived outside the store and noticed an individual on top of the roof go inside the building, a police report said.

A police dog located the four juveniles hiding behind a twin-size box spring and mattress in a second-floor apartment above the gun shop, officials said.

The suspects were told by police to come out from behind the mattress and show their hands, the report said.

An officer noticed four to five rifles on the floor and two rifles leaning against the door frame next to the stairs, the report said.

Police believe the teens climbed on the roof of the gun store from the alley and used a screwdriver to pry open a door that led into the apartment above the shop, the police report said.

The gun shop’s owner, Larry Reeves, said it was the second break-in at the store in the 28 years he’s been there.

Reeves said items the youths attempted to steal were the rifles and bb guns.

The suspects face at least two years in a state boys' school, 9th Judicial District Attorney Matt Chandler said.

Police Lt. James Schoeffel said stolen guns are “traded easily and sold cheap.”