Two juveniles charged as adults for theft of 25 guns from Bloomington business

Posted on December 16, 2022
A juvenile female with her infant child drove Freeman, Lobdell and DaJuan Edwards-Melton to the business where they broke through a window and stole the weapons, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. (Pixabay)

By 25 News

BLOOMINGTON – Two juveniles are being tried as adults for allegedly stealing 25 guns from a Bloomington sporting goods store in December of last year, with one of the stolen firearms being used to shoot a 13-year-old boy in Peoria.

Earlier this week, 14-year-old Antwan Freeman appeared in adult court on charges including a Class X felony for allegedly having in his possession 24 handguns and an AR-15 rifle taken during a burglary to Smiley’s Sport Shop on Ireland Grove Road in Bloomington during the early morning hours of Dec. 12, 2021.

Also facing trial as an adult is Robert Lobdell, who was 17 at the time of the break-in, and faces the same charges as Freeman.

A juvenile female with her infant child drove Freeman, Lobdell and DaJuan Edwards-Melton to the business where they broke through a window and stole the weapons, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Edwards-Melton was 21 when he was sentenced in federal court Sept. 8 to 37-months in prison for burglary to a federally licensed firearms dealer and for possession of stolen guns.

The young mother who drove the suspects is being tried in juvenile court, said McLean County State’s Attorney Erika Reynolds.

Federal prosecutors said three of the stolen guns were used in other crimes, including the shooting of a 13-year-old boy in December 2021. Authorities said they recovered another of the guns in a carjacking investigation, and another was recovered when police chased down a domestic battery suspect.

25 News can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…