SEATTLE — Joey A. Maillet has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for smash-and-grab burglaries at FREDS Guns near Sequim and another in Skagit County.
Maillet, 39, was sentenced in federal district court Wednesday to 58 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Brian Moran announced.
Maillet pleaded guilty in February to two counts of theft of firearms from a federal firearms licensee.
He was ordered to pay restitution to FREDS Guns and All American Armory in Bow for damages and the value of nearly 40 stolen firearms. Both thefts occurred after Maillet rammed vehicles into the stores.
“At the sentencing hearing, the owners of FREDS Guns told the judge the burglary had severely impacted their business and their family’s sense of security and well-being,” U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Emily Langlie said Wednesday.
Maillet admitted he stole 26 handguns from FREDS Guns on U.S. Highway 101 west of Sequim on April 13, 2019, and 13 rifles and ammunition from All American Armory in Bow on May 3, 2019, federal court papers said.
None of the rifles taken in the Bow gun store burglary have been recovered, Langlie said.
“To date, seven of the handguns have been recovered by law enforcement agencies in Canada,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum.
“The (U.S.) government does not have the full information about these recoveries, but is aware that one was recovered from a woman arrested for theft in Vancouver, B.C., and another was recovered from two men arrested in Calgary, A.B., with about 250 fentanyl pills and several grams of methamphetamine.”
FREDS Guns released a surveillance video of the April 2019 burglary that showed a man later identified as Maillet ramming through the wall and front door of the store.
Maillet said he stole a backhoe from Leitz Farm Supply and Equipment’s hay barn near FREDS Guns, which is at 261340 U.S. Highway 101 near Sequim, before smashing through the store at about 11:30 p.m. April 13, according to the plea agreement.
At the Bow armory, surveillance video showed Maillet using a stolen pickup to shatter the doors of the store.
Maillet then used a garbage can, stolen from a neighboring post office, to load up 13 rifles from the store and then drove away with them in the stolen pickup, Langlie said.
Investigators used forensic evidence, including blood and fingerprints, to link Maillet to the crimes.
A Ferndale police officer arrested Maillet on an outstanding warrant on May 10, 2019.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Sequim Police Department, State Patrol, Skagit County Sheriff’s Office, Ferndale police and state park rangers.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
