A man who confessed to his crimes on Tuesday was involved in a plan to steal 123 handguns. The scheme involved kidnapping the manager of a Michigan sporting goods store and threatening him at gunpoint to reveal how to turn off the alarm. U.S. Attorney Mark Totten described Darnell Bishop’s crimes as brazen and stated that if successful, they would have flooded the streets of Benton Harbor and beyond with illegal firearms.
Bishop admitted that he and his brother handcuffed and blindfolded the manager of the Benton Harbor Dunham’s Sports at the victim’s home last November. They forced the manager to reveal how to disable the alarm system. Bishop then went to the store and stole two coolers, sunglasses, and the 123 guns while his accomplice, Dontrell Nance, stayed with the Dunham’s manager in a car. Store video footage of the theft was used as evidence in the case.
Both Bishop and Nance pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. They face possible life in prison as a result of their crimes. One of the men was identified by investigators after he attempted to transfer money from the manager’s bank account using a cash app. The stolen guns were valued at over $100,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, but they have since been recovered