Charlotte teen sentenced in Simpsonville gun store burglary

A Charlotte teen will serve 30 months in federal prison in connection with the burglary of a Simpsonville gun shop, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina announced Wednesday.

Juran Maghi Witherspoon, 18, was sentenced on a charge stemming from a pre-dawn break-in and theft of 43 handguns from The Gun Shop and Indoor Range, 622 NE Main St., in October 2016, according to court records.

Shortly before 3 am on Oct. 13, prosecutors said three men wearing hooded sweatshirts and gloves drove a minivan through the front of the store and used a sledgehammer and baseball bat to break the glass display cases before loading various firearms into bags.

“The three men were in the store for just under one minute before they fled in a getaway car and abandoned the van at the scene,” US Attorney Beth Drake said on a release Wednesday.

A subsequent inventory of the missing guns revealed that 43 handguns had been stolen to include various models of Auto Ordnance, Bersa, Glock, Ruger, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory and Taurus firearms, Drake said.

Witherspoon was dictated in December 2016 by a federal grand jury. Prior to his indictment, Witherspoon was arrested on federal arrest warrants in early November for the offense and has remained in custody, detained without bond, since that date, the US Attorney’s Office said.

A second Charlotte teen, Sahier Lavon Richardson,18, has also been indicated in connection to the case, records show.

In addition to 30 months incarceration, Witherspoon was ordered to pay more than $48,000 in restitution, Drake said.

“The Simpsonville and Charlotte police, ATF, and the Lincoln County Sheriff, they pulled together to solve this one,” she said. “Working together for safer communities is what it’s about.”

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the Simpsonville Police Department, Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department.