A Lubbock man's decade-long future was decided behind bars for stealing an arsenal of firearms. David Lara was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for a burglary that resulted in 37 guns being swiped from a Lubbock Federal Firearms Licensee, according to the Department of Justice.
Lara, aged 57, pleaded guilty to the theft in August, following a June indictment. According to court documents, the break-in occurred during a summer spree of similar burglaries in 2020. With exceptional tenacity, it was in the dark of night that Lara, together with an accomplice, broke into Gebo’s Distributing Inc., prying back sheet metal to slither in through an attached storage area.
Once inside, they wielded a sledgehammer to smash glass cases, collecting the stash of firearms. However, a mistake was made when fleeing the scene, as they dropped the bag of guns along with gloves and ski masks. Lucky for law enforcement, the Lubbock Police Department's forensic analysis hit paydirt, matching the DNA found on the gloves to Lara.
When cornered by police, Lara coughed up to the heist, admitting his role in the burglary, while the authorities put the pieces together. All this led to today's stiff sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, ensuring Justice served cold for a hot burglary.
The collaboration between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives and the Lubbock Police Department brought the investigation to a close, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Rancourt leading the prosecution efforts, ensuring that Lara’s theft did not go unpunished.
