At about 2:30 a.m. on Monday, May 20, five men dressed in black with masks threw a large rock through the window of The Prairie Jewel at 7113 McLaughlin Road. The owner, Don Cronkhite, said the burglars trashed his store. Nothing was stolen, but the tools he uses for making jewelry were strewn about on the floor amidst the broken glass.
The thieves were not looking for jewelry; they wanted to get into KTM Arms next door at 7111 McLaughlin Road to steal guns. Cronkhite said, “I built a door inside the store that leads into KTM.” On the other side of that door is KTM and a secure door equipped with alarms if someone tries to break through it.
KTM also has cameras outside so KTM owner, Craig Williams, was able to describe the burglars as best he could without seeing their faces.
When the alarms went off, Williams was called and quickly arrived at KTM. The burglars were just fleeing the scene when he pulled in. Williams followed them and was able to get a description of the car and the license plate. “Typically, it’s not something gun stores face,” Williams said. However, he said, “Burglars hit the Springs Armory and Sportsman Warehouse Monday night.”
An article published in The Gazette May 21 confirmed that the Sportsman Warehouse on North Chelton Road in Colorado Springs was robbed at 2 a.m. Tuesday. According to the article, “Investigators determined someone drove a vehicle into the store and took several items, including firearms before fleeing the scene.”
According to the Colorado Springs police, the perpetrators were most likely juveniles.
