Sept. 6. Three men who burglarized The Range at Lake Norman have been sentenced to prison. Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, said the business was targeted because a picture on its website showed it did not have bars on its windows. Maceo Royster, 20, Emmanuel Hargrove Guy, 19, and Lacedric McMillon, 23, all of Charlotte, were sentenced to 60 months, 57 months, and 40 months in prison, respectively. The defendants were also ordered by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. to serve three years under court supervision upon completion of their prison terms.

According to filed court documents and court proceedings, McMillon, Guy, Royster and a fourth individual conspired to burglarize The Range at Lake Norman. According to court records, on Oct. 23, 2016, the four men drove to the gun store after it had closed for the day. McMillon waited in the car while Guy, Royster and their co-conspirator broke into the store, grabbed rifles and pistols and fled the scene.

Shortly after the robbery, law enforcement attempted to stop the getaway vehicle but McMillon sped away. After evading law enforcement, the vehicle stopped at a cul-de-sac in a neighborhood and the men fled on foot. McMillon, Guy, and Royster were later arrested. Law enforcement officers also recovered two bags which contained 22 firearms stolen from the gun store.

Royster, Guy, and McMillon pleaded guilty to one count of theft from the premises of a person licensed to engage in the business of importing, manufacturing, and dealing in firearms. They are currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole. In making the announcement, U.S. Attorney Rose thanked C.J. Hyman, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Chief Bence Hoyle of the Cornelius Police Department for investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Dillon of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte was in charge of the prosecution.