Thieves steal Lubbock man's safe with about 30 guns inside

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - More than 30 guns are in the hands of criminals after a full gun safe was stolen from a Lubbock man's home.

It happened around 7:45 p.m. last Thursday, when three thieves targeted Bob Arnold's home near 62nd Street and Wayne Avenue. Police do not have any leads in the case.

Arnold did not find out about the crime until he came home the next day.

"I saw the lights were broken in the garage," he said, "and that's how I knew something was amiss. Both back doors had been busted open...I came in the house and the TV was gone, checked my room, the TV and safe were gone. I immediately went out of the house and called police and let them come in and go through the house."

Arnold believes the thieves were in his home about 45 minutes and moved the 800 pound safe with about 30 guns inside through his garage and onto the bed of a pickup truck in his driveway.

He knows this from surveillance footage taken from his neighbor's homes.

"They were in front of the house for about two minutes, drove around and went to the alley immediately…and three guys got out of the vehicle and it looked like a Silver Dodge Avenger," he said, "and they were gone about 15 minutes, and one came out on the phone and was looking at the street sign and called for an additional pickup to show up. And about three minutes later, a Silver Dodge four-door pickup showed up with one guy in it, and that's the vehicle they used to load the safe in…and then they pulled the car in the alley and loaded it up."

In the days that followed the theft, Arnold has tried to track down serial numbers for police reports.

These are some of the guns he listed as stolen on Facebook:  "Had a Henry with ROBERT0001 as the serial number. I had an IWI Tavor IDF. DPMS tac 2 with mule tactical stock and leupold vxr zombie scope. Keltec ksg in titanium. Sig 716 patrol in fde with leupold vx6 scope. Sig 516 patrol with leupold vxr. Remington 700 VTR stainless with leupold vx6 4-18."

"They have the ability to track the guns that may hit the market," he said. "Even my Xbox and Play Station have serial numbers on those, so hopefully some of that merchandise can be found and maybe somebody can be prosecuted at some point."

Arnold wants his guns out of criminals' hands as soon as possible.

"When I purchased those firearms, they weren't for that reason," he said. "That's scary."

The space under Arnold's tree remains bare, but he is still thankful this Christmas.

"It could've been more than merchandise gone, it could've been lives lost and that's scary."

To report any tips on this case, call Crime Line at 741-1000.

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