Robert Kier, Jr., Stolen Firearms, Georgia 2013

Valdosta man Robert Kier, Jr., 30, has been sentenced to 168 months in prison for his role in a string of burglaries and stolen firearms in South Georgia and Florida.

According to court records, Kier was sentenced on June 4, 2013, by Senior United States District Court Judge Hugh Lawson after pleading guilty to possession and sale of stolen firearms and possession of stolen firearms, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(j) and 924(a)(2) and Section 2.

Kier was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $54,145.04. The charges against Kier stemmed from his involvement in the theft of a Shearwater boat in Marion County, Florida, in October 2010, which he later sold in Coffee County, Georgia. He also admitted to burglarizing two homes in Echols County, Georgia, in October and November 2010, where he stole 22 weapons, including rifles, shotguns, and handguns, and three Polaris all-terrain vehicles.

The weapons from one burglary were recovered in Coffee County and in Florida after a co-defendant attempted to sell some of them. The ATVs were later recovered in Madison County, Florida, in a trailer stolen from Lanier County, Georgia. Kier also admitted to stealing a Ford truck in Madison County, Florida, on Christmas Day 2011, which was later recovered following a wreck in Lowndes County, Georgia.

Kier stipulated that he possessed and stole 22 firearms and other stolen property constituting a loss to the owners of that property of between $120,000.00 and $200,000.00.

‘When Mr. Kier stole these guns, he guaranteed that my office would use our resources to find him and send him to prison,’ said U.S. Attorney Michael Moore.

The case was investigated by the Echols County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with a number of other South Georgia and Florida local law enforcement agencies, including the Lowndes County and Coffee County Sheriff’s Offices and the Madison and Marion County Sheriff’s Offices in Florida. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert D. McCullers.

For more information on this case, contact Sue McKinney, Public Affairs Specialist, at (478) 621-2602.

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