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Powhatan gun thieves sold stolen weapons to gangs, family member

Posted at 9:31 AM, Feb 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-24 09:31:16-05

RICHMOND, Va. — Most of the 30 weapons stolen from American Family Pawn shop in Powhatan were sold within hours after the May 2015 theft. The guns were sold to a gang member in New York City and a family member of one of the men involved in the crime, according to prosecutors.

Powhatan gun thefts

Jonathan Xavier Thorne, 21, of Richmond, was sentenced this week to seven years in prison for his role in the crime. Thorne, who pleaded guilty in September, will also be on three years of supervised release and must also pay $2,500 in fines.

“Thorne, along with his brother, Jerell Markes Broadie, 23, and co-conspirators Meleke Daquan Osborne, 22, and William Grieger, 23, made plans to break into the American Family Pawn shop located in Powhatan,” court documents indicated. “During the early morning hours of May 25, 2015, Thorne, Broadie and Osborne traveled to the American Family Pawn Shop and broke into the store through a back window and smashed several glass cases, stealing 31 firearms, 11 of which were high capacity and capable of holding more than 15 rounds of ammunition.”

The trio dropped one of the guns making their getaway.

“Of the 30 firearms the men stole, Thorne and Broadie each kept one, sold 11 to Grieger, and sold the remaining 17 to an alleged family member located in the Tidewater area,” prosecutors said. “Grieger kept one of his 11 firearms, and sold the remaining 10 to an alleged gang member from New York. All of the firearms sold within a matter of hours after the robbery.”

Thorne was the last of the criminals to be sentenced.

Grieger was sentenced on Nov. 3, 2015, to 78 months in prison.

Osborne was sentenced on Dec. 1, 2015, to 70 months in prison.

Broadie was sentenced on Jan. 12, 2016, to 84 months in prison.

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