Thieves Steal Ammunition From Secret Law Enforcement Shooting Range
PLACER COUNTY (CBS13) - Thieves broke into what was thought to be a secret police shooting range in the foothills and took ammunition from storage bins.
In a remote, undisclosed location hidden in the Placer County foothills, Lieutenant Troy Sander gave CBS13 full access to the shooting range used by half a dozen area law enforcement agencies.
Lt. Sander collected evidence after thieves broke into this secret range, busting heavy duty locks on military-grade storage bins and making off with hundreds of rounds of police ammunition.
"Probably won't be the last time that we get hit," said Sander.
But the Placer County Sheriff's Department doesn't want to take another risk. The agency has collaborated with the rest of the agencies that train here, agreeing to stop storing ammo on site.
"We felt that we did have adequate measures in place, but obviously, that wasn't enough to keep people from taking ammunition from is," said Sander.
In 20 years, no one's stolen from this gun range. So why now?
"Jerry Brown signed bills which limited our freedoms in this state," said Josh Deaser, owner of Just Guns.
Deaser blames a new California law aiming to limit ammo sales. The law requires people to register with the state, get fingerprinted, and undergo background checks when buying a box of bullets.
"No matter what you steal, if it's something people can't get, that's going to create a market for it.
The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms doesn't have policies in place when it comes to law enforcement securing their weapons and ammo.
"We don't have regulations to enforce. They fall under city and county government regulations -- although we would always advocate security," said ATF spokesperson Helen Dunkel.
Back at the shooting range, agencies will now bring their bullets so they don't get into the wrong hands.
For now, there are no surveillance cameras on site, but Sander says that too is being re-evaluated.