THIRD MEMBER OF STOLEN GUN "RING" CHARGED

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that charges were filed against a third member of a stolen gun "ring" operating out of Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County. The charges are part of Curran's illegal gun prosecution initiative, Operation Crime Gun. Evelyn Renee Alston, of 1014 Love Point Road, Stevensville, was charged in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County by way of an 11-count criminal information with the Illegal Possession of a Stolen Regulated Firearm (three counts); Possession of Stolen Property Valued Less Than $500 (three counts); Possession of Stolen Property Valued More Than $500 (one count); Unlawful Transportation of Handgun (three counts); and Conspiracy to Illegally Sell Regulated Firearms (one count).

It is alleged that Alston's alleged co–conspirator, Cheryl Kimberly Shorter, worked for Argenbright Security in Virginia, and stole 12 handguns from an office safe on May 13, 2002. Shorter then brought the guns from Virginia to her home in Baltimore City where she, her boyfriend, C'Don Chezere Thompson, and Alston then conspired to sell these handguns illegally. On May 15, 2002, Shorter and Alston traveled by car to Anne Arundel County in an effort to sell the handguns in the Freetown area. Based on an informant's tip received by police, they were stopped in Anne Arundel County by the Anne Arundel County Police Department, and arrested for possessing three of the stolen weapons along with ammunition. A subsequent search of Shorter and Thompson's residence uncovered three more handguns stolen from Argenbright Security, and police then learned that four other handguns had already been illegally sold by Thompson in Baltimore City. Both Shorter and Thompson were previously charged by this office in both Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County with numerous handgun violations and are currently awaiting trial.

Alston is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The maximum penalty for the offenses of Illegal Possession of a Stolen Regulated Firearm and Conspiracy to Illegally Sell Regulated Firearms is five years incarceration and/or a $10,000 fine. The maximum penalty for Unlawful Transportation of a Handgun is three years incarceration and/or a $2,500 fine. The maximum penalty for Possession of Stolen Property Valued More than $500 is 15 years incarceration and/or $1,000 fine, and 18 months incarceration and/or a $500 fine for Possession of Stolen Property Valued Less than $500.

This case was investigated by the Anne Arundel County Police Department and Maryland State Police and will be prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General, Firearms Trafficking Unit, Criminal Investigations Division. Funding for Operation Crime Gun comes from a grants received from the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention and the Maryland State Police Cease Fire Council.

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