Published: August 05, 2009 04:44 pm      

Suspect nabbed in Godley heist of firearms

A gun collector in northwest Johnson County was breathing a sigh of relief this week after Johnson County Sheriff’s Office personnel participated in the recovery of 38 of his stolen firearms.

Cody Wayne Jenkins, 21, of the Godley area, was arrested Monday in connection with the alleged theft from a residence on County Road 912.

Johnson County Det. Jody Augsburger said Jenkins gave a written and videotaped confession.

“He was arrested on an outstanding DWI warrant and brought in and questioned pursuant to this investigation,” Augsburger said. “He gave us all the information we needed.”

Jenkins is in the Johnson County jail, charged with burglary of a habitation, revocation of probation, speeding and failure to appear on a total bond of $15,465.

A credit card was also reported stolen.

The card owner was contacted by her card company and discovered that her card had been used at numerous locations in the Fort Worth area, a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office statement said.

The victim’s husband contacted one of the companies and retrieved a copy of the surveillance tape showing a suspect making a purchase with the credit card.

These items were turned over to investigators with the sheriff’s office. Members of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Warrants Division began searching for the suspect.

The cache of firearms, many collector’s items, included an AK-47 assault rifle, a Colt Python, a Heritage .22 long rifle, a Super Comanche .410 breech-loading pistol and an Israel-made Desert Eagle .50 handgun.

The owner notated the serial numbers of all 38 firearms during the investigation.

“The victim provided a rather lengthy list mainly consisting of weapons and ammunition,” Augsburger said. “While the deputies were processing that extensive information, some of the family members were told that another family member might be involved in the offense. Apparently our suspect, for reasons unknown, got cold feet once the family found out he might be in possession of these weapons.

“He tried to negotiate a deal beneficial to himself where he would drop off the weapons at an undisclosed location. He was not willing to return to the residence, apparently fearing for his safety.”

After ditching the firearms, Augsburger said, the suspect contacted the family to tell them the location of the cache.

“The family and the deputies responded to that location and recovered the weapons,” Augsburger said. “The majority of the property has been recovered. We’re still looking for a couple of items. I don’t think any other suspects are going to be implicated.”

The suspect had no plans for distributing the firearms, Augsburger said.

“I think initially he thought he could sell the guns, but the idea of driving around with that many weapons and that much ammunition in a vehicle gave him cold feet. According to his confession, he hid the weapons in a remote location until he decided what to do with them.”

There were “too many rounds of ammunition to count,” Augsburger said. “We’re talking about thousands and thousands of rounds.”

Thirty-four firearms were initially reported missing by the owner.

“We recovered four more guns than he reported stolen,” Augsburger said. “He found records of them Monday. Every weapon he has is legal to own in the state of Texas.”

The Desert Eagle .50 and Colt Python are among the more unusual handguns.

“I would say the average value of the handguns is $500 or more,” Augsburger said. “The Desert Eagle is a unique piece. It was made for the Israeli Army. I’ve actually fired one before. They have a tremendous kick. They’re well-made. You don’t see very many of them. A lot of people just like to be able to say they have one. The rifles recovered range from hunting rifles to shotguns and assault weapons. Most would be hunting weapons.”

The owner of the firearms is not a gun dealer, Augsburger said.

“That’s been verified through [Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms]. He is legally in possession of them.”

Augsburger said he doesn’t recall a recovered cache of firearms this large.

“This is probably the most guns I’ve dealt with at one time. The owner told me that most of the guns were left to him by his dad. He said his dad had an extensive collection.”

Large caches of weapons are not unusual, according to Johnson County Lt. Troy Fuller.

“There are people throughout the United States who will pick up a piece here and a piece there,” he said. “The next thing you know, they’ve got everything from .22s to hunting rifles to shotguns.”