Probe of Large-Scale Theft Ring Leads to Major Weapons Seizure

It wasn't what the police were expecting.

After a three-month investigation into a large scale theft ring officers from the Gresham Police Department arrived at a home on the 16600 block of Northeast Wasco Street, ready to serve a search warrant.

The probe had started in May when detectives got a tip about a ring targeting heavy equipment from construction sites.

Police say the man behind the ring - Christopher Young - would travel to construction sites in the area, looking for large equipment to steal. They say that he would then take pictures of equipment and post pictures on Craigslist offering the item for sale.

If a buyer expressed interest, he would arrange to meet the buyer at a site on a weekend when he knew no workers would be around, according to police.

Gresham Police say that if the buyer agreed to the purchase, Young would arrange for a delivery date in the future that would give him time to steal the equipment and transport it an offsite location.

"Young would target items such as front loaders and skid steer tractors," said Gresham Police Detective Tony Cobb. "These stolen tractors would be sold to unsuspecting buyers for as little as $9,000 and as much as $30,000."

Based on their preliminary investigation, officers served a search warrant on Young's home in June finding an arsenal of weapons including a live grenade and two training grenades. as well as several homemade suppressors to muffle the sound of gunshots.

They went back Tuesday morning to serve another search warrant and found seven rifles including a fully automatic AR-15 rifle and an AK47 assault rifle, a pipe bomb, components to make other bombs, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and nine handguns.

Detectives also found evidence that he had discussed a school shooting with another individual but he threats were vague and didn't reference a specific school. They add that they take all threats seriously and are continuing the investigation.

Young was booked into Multnomah County Jail on 39 charges including possession of a machine gun, possession of a destructive device, possession of a silencer, attempted manufacture of a destructive device, theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, and aggravated theft.

Police are also looking for a second suspect - Fabian Peniche.

Anyone with information on either man is urged to call the Gresham Police Department at 503-6198-2719.