Five Canton men indicted for stealing 22 firearms from Canton gun store

Five Canton men were indicted in federal court for allegedly stealing dozens of guns from a firearms store in Canton in February.

Four of the defendants were also indicted on charges of conspiring to steal firearms from another Canton firearms store.

Robert Clark, Jr., 18, Marquelis Thomas, 21, Shymeik Barkley, 18, God Gibson, 18, and Jamaryon Frazier, 18, were each indicted on one count of theft of firearms from a licensed firearms dealer.

Clark, Thomas, Gibson and Frazier are also indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit theft of firearms from a licensed firearms dealer.

The five men are accused of stealing 22 firearms from Elite Security Consultants LLC on February 2, 2019.

Clark, Thomas, Gibson and Frazier are also accused of conspiring to steal firearms from Stark Arms on February 2, 2019. The men parked at Stark Arms, on Cleveland Avenue S.W., wearing gloves and covering their faces and attempted to gain entry by throwing a heavy metal object at the business’s window, according to the indictment.

If convicted, the defendants’ sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, the defendants’ role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN was reinvigorated in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Canton Police Department and Stark County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron P. Howell.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  The burden of proof is always on the government to prove a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.