Police search for stolen guns

By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY - Police launched a nationwide search for an arsenal of weapons that was taken from a metro home Sunday.

The guns range from collector's items to semi automatics and until Sunday, they were under lock and key inside a safe.

Tad Dennis, the legal owner of the guns, is worried they could be out on the streets and in the wrong hands.

"I went to go get gas, I come home and I noticed my garage door was open," Dennis said.

That was the first sign that something was wrong. A closer look inside a backroom confirmed that suspicion.

"I found this safe wide open with everything that was in it gone, approximately everything from an assault rifle to old black power guns," said Dennis.

Dennis places the total on the guns to be about $40,000. His special order long-range rifle and his AR-15 were not loaded, but his handguns were.

That was a troubling thought for the chief of police in a city of 5,000 people.

"We're quite concerned that these guns are out there, somewhere, right now, being pawned or possibly going to be used," Piedmont Police Chief Jerry Koester said.

Dennis believes a car or truck was used in the heist because he found new oil spots in his garage.

Police said there was no sign of forced entry. Dennis admitted that he left his front door and his safe unlocked, so it's likely the thief could be someone he knows.

"It's very possible. I don't want to say that I suspect anyone of my friends but right now, anybody's a suspect," Dennis said.

Dennis said he was gone about 45 minutes.

He said his guns are registered with the ATF and since the theft, the serial numbers and the make and models were entered into a national database.

Dennis said thief also stole jewelry and about $2500 in cash.