NorthwestJune 11, 2015

Associated Press

Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. - A Washington man was sentenced Wednesday to six years in federal prison for brazenly stealing 22 handguns from a Fred Meyer store in Newberg, Ore.

On June 18, 2014, Mark A. Reyna, 26, used a hammer to break into a display case while the store was open. He loaded the handguns worth about $12,000 into a backpack. He then went out the front door of the store, about 30 miles southwest of Portland.

Police arrested him three days later in Mount Vernon, Wash., after he tried to elude them and then got into a struggle. One of the stolen firearms, a loaded .40-caliber pistol, was under the driver's seat. He later admitted he brought the guns home to Skagit County to sell them.

In the year since his arrest, police have only recovered seven of the 22 guns.

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"The rest, we don't know where they are," Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Weinhouse said.

Reyna pleaded guilty in February to theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Weinhouse and defense attorney Alison Clark jointly agreed on a recommendation of six years behind bars. As part of the deal, Reyna's sentence will run at the same time as his anticipated sentence on charges in Skagit County.

The only point of contention Wednesday was whether Reyna should be identified as a gang member in a pre-sentencing report provided to prison officials. Clark said Reyna's tattoos were of relatives, a cross and a football team.

"This man is not in a gang," she said. "He's never been in a gang."

U.S. District Court Judge Garr King agreed to have part of the report amended.

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