A Detroit man has been sentenced to more than seven years behind bars for his role in a two-day crime spree that involved breaking into a gun store in Dearborn Heights and stealing nearly 50 firearms. Deon Bell, 29, received a prison term of 90 months, a sentence that will run consecutively with a 102-month sentence from a separate armed robbery of a T-Mobile store, according to a statement from United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison. This sentencing followed an announcement made by Ison and James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).
Court documents reveal that Bell recruited a group of young men, including at least one juvenile, for an initial burglary in which they stole a car, slammed it into the front of a gun store, and made off with 22 firearms. Notably, Bell repeated the crime the following night with two other minors, using the same method to steal an additional 25 weapons. The subsequent high-speed police chase following this second burglary put additional lives at risk. As per the U.S. Attorney's Office, while law enforcement has recovered several of the stolen guns in other investigations, many remain unaccounted for.
Bell, who has a history of criminal offenses including drug trafficking, carrying a concealed weapon, criminal sexual conduct 3rd degree, and armed robbery, was condemned by U.S. Attorney Ison for his actions. "Stealing cars, crashing them into gun stores to rob them, and putting nearly 50 stolen guns on the street endangered our community in so many ways," Ison stated, as cited by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Critiques were also aimed at Bell's strategy of involving minors in his criminal activity, for which he was heavily criticized by authorities.
Special Agent in Charge James Deir also commented on the case, illustrating Bell's negative impact on community safety. Deir said: "Deon Bell is a menace to our community’s safety. He concocted a burglary scheme to funnel illegal weapons into our community. Furthermore, Mr. Bell cowardly recruited and manipulated juveniles in our community to further perpetrate his criminal acts putting our community’s safety at risk," as detailed by the Justice Department.
The investigation that led to Bell's conviction was spearheaded by the ATF with initial assistance from the Dearborn Heights Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Ramamurthy, Meghan Bean, and Hank Moon.
