Teon Thomas of Seneca was sentenced today to 110 months in prison on one count of transporting stolen firearms

Teon Thomas of Seneca was sentenced today to 110 months in prison on one count of transporting stolen firearms, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy and federal court records.The 23-year-old was arrested in May 2006 and last February pleaded guilty along with other conspirators involved in the commission of gun trafficking, records show.On March 15, 2006, "experienced" burglars used a sledgehammer to smash a hole in the wall of Trader's Guns Store in Taylors and, to avoid surveillance detection, cast a fishing net to retrieve the 31 guns that were stolen, according to the sentencing memorandum. Three guns were either dropped or discarded and found near the gun store. Two weeks later, two of the ultimately nine recovered guns in the case were found in Connecticut, according to records. Two of the guns were found in a New York City bus terminal restroom, discarded by one man making a return trip to Seneca from Middletown, Conn. From April to September 2006, the remainder of the guns were found after drug and shooting arrests and execution of a search warrant, records show. The guns had been sold in the Middletown area.
Thomas has been convicted on several previous theft and burglary charges in the Upstate, including the theft of condoms from a Wal-Mart and a car wash coin machine in Anderson, as well the burglaries of a bowling lane, food store and another business, according to court records.