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Three arrested in burglary, gun thefts

Warrants executed in Tama, Toledo and Marshalltown

TOLEDO — A Tama man and two juveniles have been charged in connection with a burglary and subsequent theft of guns, ammunition and money that led authorities to residences in Tama and Marshall counties.

According to a report from the Toledo Police Department, authorities responded to a report of a residential burglary in the 1200 block of South Church in Toledo this past Wednesday.

According to Toledo Police Sgt. Dan Quigley, during the course of the investigation, four search warrants were executed at six locations and one vehicle within the cities of Toledo, Tama and Marshalltown between Thursday and Saturday morning.

Quigley said during the execution of the search warrants, 10 firearms were recovered including all of the firearms that had been reported stolen from the Toledo residence, as well as multiple rounds of ammunition and drug paraphernalia.

Two juvenile males and an adult male — Gabriel Garcia, 18, of Tama — were taken into custody during the course of the investigation. Garcia, thus far, has been charged with possession of stolen property, while the two juveniles were each initially charged with first-degree burglary. Garcia is currently in custody at the Tama County Jail.

Quigley said his agency, along with the Tama Police Department, Tama County Sheriff’s Office, Marshalltown Police Department, State Center Police Department and the Marshalltown Police/Marshall County Sheriff’s SWAT unit, worked long hours on the investigation.

“It was all-hands on deck since we received the report,” he told the Times-Republican. “Because of the severity of the case, we did not want to see these firearms in the wrong hands.”

Quigley said the burglary victims had serial numbers and good descriptions of the firearms that were stolen, which successfully aided the investigation in a relatively short timeframe. Considering many cases like these often take weeks, sometime months to resolve, Quigley said the cooperation by the victims, the public and all the law enforcement agencies involved, made this a relatively quick effort. He cautioned, however, the investigation is still open and that future charges and arrests are possible.

“It was a very intense few days,” said Quigley, adding he hopes the public takeaway from this investigation will be that “their local law enforcement is out to serve them. Without the cooperation of the public, we can only do so much.”

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