4 people charged after New Kensington gun shop burglarized

NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. — One of the nearly two dozen guns stolen from a New Kensington gun shop earlier this week was recovered during a traffic stop Wednesday in Homestead. Now, four people are now facing charges.

On Monday, the door to RC Firearms was smashed into by alleged burglars using their vehicle as a “battering ram.” Glass cases displaying guns inside the shop were smashed into and ransacked.

>> 4 suspects detained in connection to New Kensington gun shop burglary

Police said in court documents more than 20 guns were stolen.

“What we have here it seems is a smash and grab,” said Dr. John Cencich, Professor and Criminologist at Pennsylvania Western University. “It’s bold, it’s brazen, but apparently, it seems to work.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told local police to be on the lookout for a white Audi SUV believed to be connected to the burglary. That SUV was spotted on a license plate reader in West Mifflin, and later found in Homestead Wednesday.

William Byrd, James Eason, Keyauje Wakler-Harris, and Tevian Williams were pulled over and arrested.

The arrest was caught on surveillance video from a nearby business.

According to police – all four men had loaded guns in their waistbands. Walker-Harris’s gun was one of the ones stolen from RC Firearms.

Cencich said often in cases like this – the motivation is money.

“There’s a high profit margin with these stolen firearms. Some of them can go for several hundred dollars,” Cencich told Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek. “They’re not going to go for the price that it would cost to go  in and get one normally speaking, but someone who can’t legally go buy a weapon may be more inclined to pay a higher dollar.”

Court documents do not specify if any of these four men were involved in the actual burglary at RC Firearms.

Cencich said that will likely be determined through interviews the ATF and other law enforcement agencies hold.

He also said stolen guns can be hard to track down. He said the most common ways are finding guns on the person who stole them, the gun being used in another crime, or an informant telling police someone has bought or is selling a stolen gun.

“They’ve got 20 guns, they’re going to sell them and the prices on the street can be worth it, for sure,” he said.

Three of the four men arrested are under 21. They all face charges for carrying a firearm without a license. Wakler-Harris faces a charge for receiving stolen property. Police say Williams’ has a criminal history and is not allowed to have a gun.

They say Williams was also found with 71 stamp bags of heroin and fentanyl.

Cencich credits the gun shop for having cameras in place – and the quick teamwork of multiple agencies.

“Maybe they couldn’t have prevented a truck from coming through the door, or the window, or wherever they came through, but at least they were able to capture evidence, and look, have people in custody,” Cencich said.

RC Firearms is still closed but does plan to reopen. The owners are working to install concrete barriers in front of the door to keep this from happening again.

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