POLICE REPORT

Gaffney man pleads

guilty in gun case

A Gaffney man pleaded guilty in federal court Friday for his involvement in what U.S. Attorney Johnny Gasser called one of the largest organized gun theft and trafficking rings in state history.

Gary Matthew Martin, 25, of Gaffney, is one of four men who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell handguns stolen from their workplace at the United Parcel Service hub center in West Columbia, Gasser said in a news release. The other men pleading guilty are William Shane Ninan, 26, of Easley; Julius Rozell Barnes, 27, of Columbia; and Sterling Serrone Leeper, 26.

Federal prosecutors said Ninan recruited his three codefendants to steal firearms and illegally sell them starting in April of 1999. Each man worked with UPS between 1999 and 2000.

Judge Cameron McGowan Currie will sentence the four men at a later date.

Smile, you’re on

candid camera!

A surveillance camera videotaped a person stealing $400 worth of phone cards and $25 worth of lottery tickets, a report at the Gaffney Police Department states.

No arrest has yet been made.

The man entered Corner Stop No. 5 at 1200 N. Logan St., Gaffney, at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, and reached across the counter to steal the items, the report states.