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Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Northern District of Texas
Leigha Simonton, United States Attorney
www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx
For Immediate Release
Thursday, December 14, 2023

Man Who Stole 37 Firearms Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

DALLAS — Lubbock man who committed a burglary of a Lubbock Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

David Lara, 57, was charged via indictment in June and pleaded guilty to theft of firearms from an FFL in August. Mr. Lara was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison before U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix.

According to court documents, during the summer of 2020 there were numerous burglaries of FFLs in and around Lubbock. On June, 28, 2020, Lara and another individual entered Gebo’s Distributing Inc. by prying back the sheet metal on the side of the building and gained access to the building through a storage area attached to the building.

Once inside the building, the individuals began breaking out the glass displays with a sledgehammer, removed 37 firearms from the cases and placed them in a bag. The bag containing the firearms was eventually dropped while they were fleeing the scene, along with gloves and ski masks they wore during the burglary. The gloves were recovered by the Lubbock Police Department and submitted for forensic analysis. DNA results were a match for Lara.

When interviewed, Lara admitted to committing the burglary.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, with assistance from the Lubbock Police Department, conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Rancourt prosecuted the case.

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