4 people arrested after assault rifles stolen

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Authorities in Louisiana have arrested four suspects in the theft of dozens of assault rifles from a freight company's terminal.

One of the suspects was a security guard working at Con-way Freight's Shreveport facility when a shipping pallet containing 63 Colt AR-15s was stolen earlier this month, according to Caddo Parish Sheriff Steve Prator's office.

Con-way Freight reported the theft to the sheriff's office on Oct. 15. None of the guns has been recovered, Prator's office said Wednesday.

The semi-automatic weapons, valued at $800 apiece, are black and have 16-inch barrels. They were part of a five-pallet shipment of guns that was being sent from Hartford, Conn., to a Shreveport gun distributor when it was checked into the terminal on Oct. 12, Prator's office said. The guns were discovered missing two days later.

None of the suspects was employed by Con-way Freight. One suspect, 21-year-old Cameron Johnson of Keithville, worked as a security guard for a contractor and was arrested after being questioned by sheriff's detectives and federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Three others were also arrested last week: Luther M. Williams Jr., 22, of Shreveport; James D. Minor Jr., 44, of Keithville; and David McNeil, 31, of Keithville.

Prator's office said McNeil was arrested Oct. 17 after investigators searched a home in Keithville and found a television that had been stolen from the terminal on the same day as the weapons. He was charged with illegal possession of stolen goods. The other suspects were charged with theft of a firearm.

Bond for Johnson, McNeil and Williams was set at $500,000. Minor was being held on $250,000 bond.

Wade Rasberry, resident agent in charge of the ATF's Shreveport field office, said there is "absolutely no indication" that the theft is terrorism-related.

"This is more of a crime of opportunity," he said.