Local

Feds arrest gun store employee in connection to nearly 60 stolen guns

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Federal investigators say nearly 60 guns were reported missing or stolen from Mainstreet Guns & Range, a Gwinnett County gun store.
 
On Tuesday, they indicted Jeffrey Scott Truitt in connection with some of the stolen guns. Truitt was employed at the gun store from 2012 until this summer.
 
On Oct.16, ATF agents executed a search warrant at his Norcross home, where they found some items that linked back to the store's merchandise.
 
"They had search lights going on in the backyard. We actually heard a noise, it sounded like two flash grenades or whatever they call them. They informed us with a spotlight to please go back in our homes," said Carolyn Canniff, a neighbor.
 
"It sounded like a shotgun blast in my backyard. It was loud," said David Puckett, another neighbor.
 
Truitt is facing federal firearms charges.
 
Agents say several of the guns registered to Truitt were traced to other crimes in multiple states.
 
According to a search warrant affidavit, a witness told a federal agent Truitt said "that he was involved with a White Power movement."
 
Additionally, on one occasion the witness saw "Truitt wear a Ku Klux Klan rally t-shirt," according to the search warrant.
 
Truitt is currently in federal custody.
 
The owner of Mainstreet Guns & Range declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation. The store is cooperating with federal authorities.