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- Three men were arrested in connection with a burglary at Premier Firearms in Lindon.
- Over 70 firearms and other items were stolen, including a Dodge Ram truck.
- Authorities recovered 70 firearms and arrested three men.
LINDON — Three men have been arrested in connection with a weekend burglary at a gun store in Lindon where more than 70 firearms and other items were stolen, according to police.
On Dec. 28, investigators believe a man broke into Premier Firearms, at 55 S. Geneva Road.
"Surveillance video shows the suspect in or around the business for approximately nine hours … while ransacking every room in the business," according to a pair of police booking affidavits.
The store reported "72 firearms stolen from the business along with multiple power tools, several large garbage cans, rubber boots and clothing. They also reported a 2024 white Dodge Ram with a flatbed stolen from the business," the affidavit states.
Investigators looked at surveillance video and observed "the suspect emptied multiple large garbage cans and then loaded the stolen firearms into the garbage cans. The suspect then loaded the garbage cans onto the flatbed … along with a bicycle," which police believe the man used to ride to the store, according to the affidavit.
The man is believed to have left the business about 3:40 a.m. on Dec. 29. The Lindon Police Department, Utah County Major Crimes Unit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the burglary.
Agents found a backpack at the business that appeared to be left behind by the thief, the affidavit states. The stolen Dodge was found in Pleasant Grove on Monday and was determined to have been dropped there about two hours after it was taken.
Using that information, several search warrants were served and Edgar Cortez-Mesa, 35, was arrested Thursday at his home in American Fork.
"Cortez-Mesa admitted there were six guns inside the residence," according to the affidavit.
As police were searching Cortez-Mesa's residence, a vehicle pulling a trailer arrived.
"The vehicle and the trailer were seized. A search warrant was applied for and executed on the vehicle and trailer. The stolen garbage cans were found in the trailer along with 60 of the stolen guns," the affidavit states. "Several additional search warrants were applied for and executed on residences, vehicles, trailers, and recreational vehicles in Lindon and American Fork. Seventy of the firearms have been recovered."
Cortez-Mesa was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of burglary, possession of a weapon by a restricted person, 70 counts of theft of a firearm and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The man who pulled up with the trailer, Alec Jesse Jones, 36, of Orem, was arrested for investigation of 60 counts of theft of a firearm and drug possession.
A third man who police say was helping load items onto a truck at the American Fork residence, Carlos Andres Raimondi-Perez, 44, was arrested for investigation of drug possession, two counts of theft of a firearm and possession of drug paraphernalia.
