David Lara, Theft of Firearms, Texas 2023

A Lubbock man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for stealing 37 firearms from a local Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL).

David Lara, 57, was charged via indictment in June 2023 and pleaded guilty to theft of firearms from a FFL in August 2023.

According to court documents, during the summer of 2020, there were numerous burglaries of FFLs in and around Lubbock. On June 28, 2020, Lara and another individual entered Gebo’s Distributing Inc. by prying back the sheet metal on the side of the building and gained access to the building through a storage area attached to the building.

Once inside the building, the individuals began breaking out the glass displays with a sledge hammer, removed 37 firearms from the cases and placed them in a bag. The bag containing the firearms was eventually dropped while they were fleeing the scene, along with gloves and ski masks they wore during the burglary. The gloves were recovered by the Lubbock Police Department and submitted for forensic analysis. DNA results were a match for Lara.

When interviewed, Lara admitted to committing the burglary.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, with assistance from the Lubbock Police Department, conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Rancourt prosecuted the case.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton announced the sentencing.

Lara was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison before U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix.

MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS

Weapons

Kody Severin, Possessing Machine Gun Conversion Devices, Louisiana 2023

Apr 9, 2026

Weapons

Sharee Bailey, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, New York 2024

Aug 6, 2020

Weapons

Rodney Cossari, Felon in Possession of Firearms, Pennsylvania 2024

Feb 22, 2017

Weapons

Chester Lee Holloway, Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute, Kentucky 2026

May 12, 2026