The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested four brothers in connection to the burglary of a Tampa gun store last week. Two of the suspects are from Plant City.
Gabriel Navarrette, 24, and Emilio Navarrette, 21, both live on Granfield Avenue, in Plant City. Xavier Navarrette, 22, is from Tampa, and Mario Navarrette, 25, is from Jacksonville.
The brothers broke through the concrete wall of Shooting Sports on Dale Mabry Highway at 1:35 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, and stole 42 handguns, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Deputies believe they used sledgehammers to punch their way into the store.
Once inside the shop, they shattered two glass cases and packed the $20,700 worth of semiautomatic pistols into two black bags. As the suspects swept through the business, store staff said they activated motion detectors, which alerted deputies and the store owner. The suspects were gone by the time deputies arrived.
The Sheriff’s Office received a tip about the identity of the suspects Saturday, Oct. 24. Detectives worked through the night and were able to locate and take the suspects into custody. Emilio Navarrette, Gabriel Navarrette and Xavier Navarrette were arrested in Hillsborough County. Mario Navarrette was arrested in Jacksonville and will be returned to Hillsborough County to face charges.
The investigation continues and detectives are following up with several search warrants to locate the stolen guns.
