GRAND RAPIDS (WWJ) — One of two men accused of kidnapping the manager of a West Michigan Dunham's store and stealing more than 100 guns has pleaded guilty.
Dontrell Nance, 25, pleaded guilty this week to charges of kidnapping and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced Tuesday.
Nance and his co-defendant, Darnell Bishop, allegedly "ambushed" the store manager at his home last November, then blindfolded him, took him to a second location and forced him at gunpoint to give them the keys and alarm security code for the store, located on E Napier Ave. in Benton Harbor, according to prior reports.
Totten said Tuesday, as part of the plea agreement, Nance admitted to the kidnapping and said he stayed with the manager while Bishop went to the store, returning with the handguns packed in two large coolers.
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, according to prior reporting.
He wheeled the coolers to the firearms section of the store, where he loaded them up with handguns, officials said at the time. Authorities held a press conference shortly after the men were arrested, displaying all 123 stolen guns.
"Illegal firearms flood our communities and are responsible for so much trauma and so many tears," Totten said, per a press release. "Without the quick and careful work of law enforcement, these guns would have done more of the same. No level of violence is acceptable, and we will remain laser focused on the few who drive violence in their communities."
Nance faces a maximum possible penalty of life in prison.
Bishop, meanwhile, pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, interference with commerce by robbery, brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and theft of firearms from a federal firearms licensee, according to Totten's office. His next court date was not disclosed.
