Man pleads to using stolen backhoe and truck to steal 40 firearms from two gun shops
The man suspected of using a stolen backhoe and truck to break into two gun stores and steal nearly 40 firearms before he was arrested in Ferndale last year pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Joey A. Maillet faces up to 10 years in prison when he’s sentenced May 8 after he pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of firearms from a federal firearms licensee, according to a Feb. 4 release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Maillet was identified as the suspect in the April 13, 2019, burglary of Fred’s Guns in Sequim and the May 3, 2019, burglary of All American Armory in Bow, the release stated.
In Sequim, Maillet used a stolen backhoe to ram the doors of the store, then broke glass display cases to steal 26 guns, cutting his arm on the glass in the process and leaving blood and fingerprints at the scene, according to court documents.
In Bow, surveillance video showed Maillet using the stolen truck to back into the doors of the store, then using a garbage can he stole from a nearby post office to load 13 rifles and drive away, court records state.
The truck was later found abandoned in Birch Bay State Park, still with shattered glass from the Bow robbery in the truck bed along with stolen boat motor and battery, the release states. A boat motor and battery were reported stolen by a Ferndale resident, and a video showed Maillet was the thief, according to the release.
A Ferndale police officer arrested Maillet on May 10 on an outstanding warrant out of Everett for burglary.
Investigators later found Maillet’s backpack, which linked him to the Bow gun store burglary.
Four of the stolen guns have been recovered in British Columbia either at crime scenes or in possession of criminal suspects, according to the release.
Under terms of the plea agreement, Mailett will pay restitution to the gun stores for damages and the stolen guns and to the businesses from which he stole the backhoe and truck. He also must pay restitution to the owner of the stolen boat motor and battery, the release stated.
In return, prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of no more than six years in prison, though the judge still has the final say.
