BENTON HARBOR (WWJ) -- Two suspects are in custody after authorities recovered 123 handguns that were stolen from a Dunham's Sports store in Southwest Michigan last week.
According to authorities, two brothers are facing federal charges after it's alleged detectives found the stolen firearms inside a pair of blue Yeti coolers in their possession.
According to investigators, the suspects ambushed the store manager at his home Friday night. It's alleged that they blindfolded the victim, held a gun to his head, kidnapped him, and demanded the keys and alarm security code for the store, located on E Napier Ave. in Benton Harbor.
Surveillance video shows a suspect arrive at Dunham's and disable the alarm, at around 10:40 p.m. on Nov. 16. The man entered the store and first took a pair of sunglasses before grabbing a pair of large, blue, rolling Yeti coolers.
He wheeled the coolers to the firearms section of the store, where he loaded them up with handguns, officials said.
Displaying the firearms at a news conference on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten joined the Benton Charter Township Police Department and other federal, state, and local officials to share the details of the case.
According to Totten, an attempted CashApp transfer from the kidnapped manager's debit card led investigators to two suspects: 25-year-old Dontrell Nance, and his brother, Darnell Bishop.
"This lead allowed law enforcement to begin surveliene and Nance," Totten said. "Subsequently, law enforcement observed Nance, Bishop and a third unknown male at another location. The suspects stood near a red Dodge Durango, and when they opened the trunk, law enforcement two coolers with sales tags still affixed to them — and appearing consistent with the stolen blue Yeti coolers."
In total, officials said the guns are worth around $100,000. (That's not including the value of the pricy Yeti coolers).
If not found and recovered, ATF Detroit Special Agent in Charge James Deir said the weapons would have landed in the hands of criminals in our local communities.
"Just look at the firepower on this table," Deir said, as the weapons were displayed for reporters to see. "You've got a hundred guns that were headed to the streets of Grand Rapids, to the streets of Detroit, Lansing, Benton Harbor, across the state."
"Just think about," he added. "That is amazing if you think about just where these guns were headed and the damage...that they could potentially do in our communities."
Dier said these types of guns are "easily sold" on the streets in Michigan.
"There is a huge market by prohibited persons: felons, illegal aliens... there's a whole litany of folks who can't buy these legally. So, there is a black market out there." Dier said. "All of these guns, you can safely assume in investigations like this, in my experience, these were headed to the streets."
Bishop and Nance are both charged with the following: Hobbs Act Robbery, Brandishing a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, Theft of Firearms from a Federally Licensee and Knowingly possessing stolen firearms.