Five Texas men indicted for stealing 650 firearms from UPS trucks in Missouri

Federal authorities indicted five men for stealing 650 firearms from a UPS freight facility in Springfield, Missouri in October 2017. The suspects include Keith Lowe (top left), Eric White (top right), Derrick White (bottom right) and Keith Lowe (bottom left). Frank McChriston not pictured. (Photo: Greene County Sheriff’s Office)

Federal attorneys announced Friday the indictments of five Texas men for stealing hundreds of firearms from two UPS trailers at a facility in Missouri last year.

The Department of Justice announced charges against Frank McChriston, 33, of Ponder, Texas; Keith Lowe, 28, of Dallas, Texas; Quinton Haywood, 26, of Glenn Heights, Texas; and Eric White, 26, and Derrick White, 32, both of Texas, for aiding and abetting one another to steal firearms being shipped across state lines and aiding and abetting one another to possess stolen firearms.

Investigators allege the five men broke into the UPS facility in Springfield last October, hot-wired two truck-tractors and used the vehicles to move trailers around the lot. The men then gained access to two trailers containing shipments of firearms, stealing 600 Beretta .380-caliber handguns, 54 Beretta 12-gauge shotguns, a pallet of Justin Brand boots, a dozen cases of soda and “numerous power tools” all destined for Bass Pro Shops.

The suspects stole a moving truck from Best Way Moving & Storage the day after looting UPS, according to the department. The truck was found a week later more than 430 miles away in Seagoville, Texas.

Investigators used cell phone tower records to connect the suspects to the UPS facility and the location of the stolen moving truck, according to court documents.

Authorities arrested Eric and Derrick White at Redneck Heaven Restaurant & Bar in Arlington, Texas on Nov. 19 on outstanding warrants. Investigators found a stolen .380-caliber handgun in Derrick White’s car, as well as an unopened Milwaukee M18 2 Toll Combo Kit and two unopened SOG folding knives.

Investigators also found a Taurus 9mm pistol, two sets of bolt cutters and two key rings in Eric White’s car. The keys matched a type “commonly used for tractor trailer trucks and fork lifts,” the department said.

It doesn’t appear the men knew the firearms — shipped from a Beretta facility in Maryland — would be at the UPS facility when they broke in, according to investigators. All five suspects remain in custody in Texas awaiting transport to the Western District of Missouri.