Ammo, weapons from armory recovered

Jen Lawson and Cy Ryan

Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2002 | 11:19 a.m.

A traffic stop Tuesday led to the arrest of two people and the recovery of guns and ammunition that had been stolen last month from the armory at the state Parole and Probation Division in Las Vegas.

"It appears we recovered everything," Metro Police Sgt. Rick Barela said this morning.

Officer Noel Roberts, who works out of the South Central substation, pulled over a vehicle Tuesday and spotted a magazine to a firearm in the vehicle. Roberts realized it belonged to a law enforcement officer from the serial numbers etched on it.

That led to the execution of search warrants in two locations, a house at 4193 Crater St., near Sam's Town, and a U-Haul storage facility at 333 N. Nellis Blvd., where police found the stolen ammunition and guns. Barela said he did not have a count of how many guns and how much ammunition were recovered.

Police arrested Jonathan Avendaro, 22, and Joshua Moyers, 20. They were booked into Clark County Detention Center after midnight this morning on 14 counts each of grand larceny of firearms and 22 counts each of possession of stolen property.

Avendaro and Moyers were not under the supervision of the office either on parole or probation, Amy Wright, Las Vegas district manager for the division, said, adding she did not recognize their names.

Barela commended Roberts for his sharp eye and good instincts.

"Where the rubber meets the road, this is a prime example of good investigative skills at a patrol level," Barela said. "He did an excellent job."

Warren Lutzow, director of the state Division of Parole and Probation, said today most of the weapons have been identified as those stolen from the Las Vegas office.

"We believe the majority of the weapons will be returned," he said, but not until after the cases are prosecuted.

The burglary occurred the weekend of Nov. 29 in an office in the parole and probation division's small annex building at 215 E. Bonanza Road. It was being used for the makeshift armory, officials said.

Burglars kicked in a wooden door and stole 22 handguns and up to 5,000 rounds of ammunition. Wright said she did not know how the building was entered.

Some of the weapons in the office were in a locked safe and were not taken at the break-in, Wright said.

Fifteen of the handguns were duty weapons that are issued to parole and probation officers when they are hired. The others were guns that had been confiscated from criminal suspects.

The weapons were laser-etched with "Nevada P&P" on the forward frame body. The serial number is laser-etched on the slide, barrel and frame. There are stamped serial numbers and model numbers on the side-release of the weapon.

In addition to the weapons, the burglars made off with six pairs of electronic ear protectors and six or seven cans of pepper spray. Lutzow said the remaining weapons have been transferred to a "more secure place" but he declined to say where that was.

"We're glad to get them (the weapons) back," Wright said.