A 39-year-old Milford man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Bangor on Friday to stealing 16 guns from a pawn shop last fall, Richard W. Murphy, the acting U.S. Attorney for Maine, said in a statement.
Travis J. Stinson and another man stole guns from JG Pawn in Bangor on Oct. 12, according to court records. Stinson acted as the driver. His accomplice, who police say committed the crime to get drugs, broke a shop window to gain entry, smashed a display case and stole the firearms.
Stinson pleaded guilty to stealing firearms from a licensed firearms dealer and possessing firearms after a prior felony conviction in Kentucky. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each charge, Murphy said. Stinson will be sentenced after completion of the presentence investigation.
Stinson had been a confidential police informant, court records show. He told authorities that out-of-state drug dealers were accepting stolen firearms as payment for drugs and taking the guns to out-of-state street gangs. Stinson also was the suspect in a theft of five guns from JG Pawn a month earlier, court records show.
The Bangor Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation.
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