Dixon police use purchase of Harlem Globetrotters jersey to find stolen guns
Detectives arrested a Vacaville man trying to sell an autographed Harlem Globetrotters jersey to undercover investigators who were looking for the sports memorabilia and 17 guns stolen in a Dixon home burglary earlier this month, police officials said.
The detectives found and recovered 18 stolen guns, including several rifles, but only half of the weapons were stolen from the Dixon home. The other guns were stolen in thefts in other jurisdictions, according to a news release from the Dixon Police Department.
The burglary investigation began on June 1, after a break-in at a home in the 1100 block of Charity Lane in Dixon. Investigators determined that 17 guns were stolen, along with about 2,000 bullets. Other belongings were stolen, including the autographed Harlem Globetrotters jersey.
Dixon police detectives began searching for the stolen items, figuring they might have been posted online for sale. Officials said the detectives found a website that had a post offering the stolen jersey for sale, so they set up an undercover sting operation to purchase the jersey from a male suspect.
On Tuesday, the detectives met at a Vacaville restaurant parking lot with the suspect, later identified as Marc McAtee Marino, 29, who was trying to sell the stolen jersey, officials said. Marino was arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen property.
The detectives obtained a search warrant for Marino’s home. There, the detectives found the 18 stolen guns and about 2,000 bullets, which were seized by police, officials said.
Nine of the guns recovered were confirmed to have been stolen from the Dixon home last week. Officials said the other guns are believed to have been stolen in other jurisdictions, and the Police Department was trying to locate additional theft victims to identify and return the guns.
Marino was booked at the Solano County Jail, and he faces charges of residential burglary, being a felon in possession of a gun, unlawful possession of ammunition and possessing stolen property.
