Stolen AR-7, 600 Rounds Recovered; AK-47, 1,000 Rounds Still Missing

Sarasota, FL — One of two high-powered firearms stolen during recent robberies in Sarasota has been recovered.

The Sarasota Police Department on Friday morning announced the arrest of Joseph Stout III, 39, in connection with one of two recent home burglaries involving the theft of high-powered rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Sign up for the Sarasota Patch newsletter and alerts!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, too!

Police on Thursday learned that Stout had sold 600 rounds of ammunition to a local pawn shop. They also discovered he “sold an AR-7 rifle, new in the box, on the same pawn ticket,” an email from the police department said. “The serial number of the stolen rifle matches the serial number on the pawned rifle.”

The burglary during which the AR-7 was stolen occurred on Wednesday. Police say someone entered a home in the 2000 block of 6th Street through an unlocked sliding-glass door. Once inside, the person took the AR-7 and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Stout has been charged with dealing in stolen property, defrauding a pawnbroker, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. He was being held in the Sarasota County Jail Friday in lieu of $125,000 bond. Police say Stout has been convicted on three felonies in the past, dating back to 1999.

While the AR-7 has been recovered, police continue to search for an AK-47 and 1,000 rounds of ammunition that were taken from a home on Old Bradenton Road Wednesday. The burglar in that case also took two 40-round magazines, $1,300 cash and ransacked the home, an incident report said.

Stout has not been connected to the second burglary, the police department said Friday.

Booking photo of Stout courtesy of the Sarasota Police Department/Image of police car via Shutterstock