Three additional people have been arrested in connection with the theft of a weapons cache earlier this month from the Harvey Police Department’s gun range, authorities announced Friday, bringing the total number of people charged to six.
To date, 17 of the 27 firearms stolen sometime between May 8 and May 10 have been recovered by Harvey police and agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to a release from the ATF's Chicago Field Division.
Eric Caldwell, 34, of Country Club Hills, was arrested Monday in Hammond, Ind. and charged with the illegal possession of a firearm by a felon. He was released on an unsecured $20,000 bond in a hearing Friday before a U.S. magistrate, the release said.
Delekeists Q. Walls, 19, of Harvey, was also arrested and charged with the illegal possession of a machine gun and a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, according to the release. He was ordered held on $20,000 bond in a Friday hearing before a Lake County, Ind. judge.
A juvenile of an unspecified age was also arrested for juvenile delinquency and is currently being held in Juvenile Detention, the release said.
Authorities said one of them tried to sell one of the stolen weapons -- an Uzi -- to an undercover police officer.
Three teenage boys were previously arrested and charged in connection with the theft after federal agents discovered some of the weapons in a wooded area near 148th Street and Rockwell Avenue in the south suburb, officials said.
On Friday, May 14, Harvey police arrested three boys with gang affiliations -- ages 14, 15 and 16 -- in connection with the theft, according to Harvey spokeswoman Sandra Alvarado.
Each of the boys is charged with one count of burglary, two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and four counts of unlawful use of a weapon, according to Cook County State's Attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton.
Harvey Police told ATF the weapons were stolen from a trailer near the range. The weapons included MP5 submachine-guns and AR-15 assault rifles, sources said. Several of the weapons are classified as fully automatic, according to the ATF.
The ATF is offering a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the recovery of weapons, the release said.
Anyone with information should call the ATF firearms hotline at (888) 273-4867. The range is about a half-mile west of police headquarters at 15301 S. Dixie Hwy.
