Two Jay, Fla., men are behind bars in connection with the theft of more than 20 guns earlier this month.
Joshua James Land, 32, of Harrison Street in Jay is being held at the Escambia County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond on charges of burglary and second-degree theft of property.
Joseph Williams, 29, of McCutchin Avenue in Jay, is facing the same charges but in being held in a Santa Rosa County, Fla., jail on warrants for similar charges, officials said. Williams will face the Escambia County charges after Santa Rosa County officials release him there, officials said.
Escambia County Sheriff Chief Deputy Mike Lambert said an investigation began as soon as the burglary was reported.
“We received a call that a home on M&M Farms on Kirkland Road had been burglarized,” Lambert said. “The incident took place sometime between July 1 and July 5 and we have been investigating since that time.”
Lambert said that more than 20 guns were taken in the burglary with several already recovered.
“We have been able to recover a majority of the guns taken,” Lambert said “There are still some guns that we are looking for and we do expect more arrests to be made in this case.”
The investigation in the case spans through several agencies, Lambert said.
“We’re working this case from every angle,” Lambert said. “The Santa Rosa County Sheriff, the Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff and the Federal ATF agency are all involved in this investigation.”
Lambert said anyone with information on the location of the remaining guns taken in the burglary in this case is asked to contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department at 809-0741 or any law enforcement agency.
“We certainly want to get all of these guns back,” Lambert said. “Any time you have a large number of guns stole, it puts the public at risk. The last thing we want to see is someone get hurt or killed at a home or business. We certainly don’t want to see a police officer killed with these guns either.”