Deputies seize gun store's inventory after burglary, citing 'persistent problem'

Will Cleveland , Sean Lahman | Democrat and Chronicle

Show Caption Hide Caption Eight handguns stolen from Parma gun store Authorities outline the theft of eight firearms from Chinappi’s Firearms and Supplies in Parma earlier this week. (Feb. 9, 2018) =

Police arrested a Hilton man and raided multiple locations in the city of Rochester Friday following the theft of dozens of firearms from a Parma gun store.

Dakota Sarfaty, 21, was charged with second-degree burglary, third-degree criminal mischief, and fourth-degree grand larceny and was arraigned in Parma Town Court.

Tactical teams from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office and Rochester Police Department executed search warrants on at least four locations Friday in an attempt to recover the stolen guns.

Sheriff Todd Baxter said that particular gun store, Chinappi's Firearms and Supplies, has been a "persistent problem."

As a result, MCSO investigators obtained a court order to close down the business and take control of its inventory, which Baxter described as "hundreds of guns and pallets of ammunition."

"For more than a decade, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has attempted to work with the owner to improve security for his facility, Baxter said. "Failure to properly secure this store has resulted in a tremendous threat to the safety of the people of this county. This cannot be tolerated."

Asked whether there were other similar gun shops in the county that caused similar concerns, Baxter said "I can't think of one other one."

Chief Deputy Michael Fowler said the store owner showed up for work Thursday morning and saw the shop had been broken into. He said the suspects forced entry through the back of the store.

According to Fowler, the incident Thursday is the seventh burglary at Chinappi's Firearms and Supplies, 5016 W. Ridge Road, since 2007. At least 82 firearms have been stolen from the store during that time, he added.

More: Eight handguns stolen from Parma gun store

More: Police make arrest in February theft from Parma gun store

Officials are working through the "lengthy" regulatory process, which involves both state and federal licensing, to sort out options for a permanent solution, Fowler said.

Deputies are in the process of taking an inventory of the firearms that had been at the store, and will hold those weapons until the regulatory process concludes. State police and the ATF are also involved.

"*The owner) doesn't deserve to have hundreds of firearms right now, and the fact is we as a society can't afford to have those firearms walking out onto the streets," Baxter said.

The store was also burglarized in February, when eight handguns were stolen. At that time, James Burroughs, resident agent in charge of the Rochester office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the store didn't have any external or internal surveillance cameras.

It's unclear whether cameras have been added to the property since that incident.

Elston Grimes Jr. of Rochester was charged in February in connection with the earlier burglary, deputies said.

According to the Giffords Law Center, a legal nonprofit specializing in firearms legislation and reform, there are currently no special security requirements for gun stores in New York, as there are in states such as Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

When a theft occurs, stolen guns are added to a federal database so authorities can monitor where they might be recovered, used in crimes, or attempted to be resold, Burroughs said.

Anyone with information on the stolen handguns and the burglary is asked to contact the ATF at (888) 283-4867, email ATFtips@atf.gov, or through the agency's website at www.atf.gov/contact/atf-tips.

WCLEVELAND@Gannett.com

SLAHMAN@Gannett.com