Police say an AR-15 rifle stolen in June 2018 from a state police cruiser was recovered in Boston over the weekend.
The rifle was taken from the cruiser of Trooper Jonathan Russell as it sat overnight in his driveway in Norway. It was stolen along with a handgun that was collected as part of an investigation.
The handgun was quickly recovered, but the rifle remained unaccounted for until it was found in Boston, state police said.
Russell told investigators he believed that he had locked the cruiser for the night, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the state police. McCausland said he could not recall if there were any signs of forced entry to the cruiser.
“(Russell) said it was locked, and I don’t believe we made a final determination whether it was or wasn’t,” McCausland said.
In January, police charged a Massachusetts man with the thefts. James Burns, 24, is now serving three years of an eight-year sentence for two counts of theft, according to Department of Corrections records.
A copy of Russell’s personnel file released last year did not include any disciplinary measures related to the missing guns. The state police denied a Freedom of Access Act request for its policy on the safe and proper storage of firearms, citing an exemption to open records law barring the release of security information.
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