UPDATE (5:20 p.m.): Deputies arrested a Hilton man linked to the burglary at the Chinappi’s Gun Shop in Parma on Friday.
Dakota Sarfaty is facing charges of burglary, grand larceny and criminal mischief related to the theft overnight on Thursday.
Deputies are now working to recover guns, executing four search warrants with more expected.
The sheriff says he believes other individuals were involved in the case.
“It’s only the tip of the iceberg on this arrest,” said Sheriff Baxter.
At the same time, Sheriff Baxter says the department has taken steps to remove any remaining firearms from the shop.
“I was in a gun shop last night… I obviously looked at that gun shop when I was walking in,” Sheriff Baxter recalls. “The burglary bars on the window, the security, and the lights, and the well-lit parking lot, is what you would expect for any crime prevention method whether you are running a storefront or a business that sells firearms.”
“Mr. Chinappi’s been directed and Mr. Chinappi’s been asked,” Baxter adds, “We’ve worked with him many times, do our security surveys, make recommendations, bring the Town of Parma, see if there’s any code enforcement we can do there. That led us to the point that he doesn’t deserve to have 100 firearms right now.”
Sheriff Baxter says he is working with the district attorney’s office to determine where the owner may face charges.
ORIGINAL:
Deputies say a judge has ordered Chinappi’s Gun Shop to cease business after multiple break-ins.
Just this week, the gun shop on West Ridge Road at Route 259 has had two break-ins. Sometime between Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning, someone broke into the shop, stealing between 35 and 40 guns.
Last Saturday, ten other guns were taken during a separate break-in.
In February, the gun shop was the site of yet another break-in where six guns were taken. Deputies say, over the course of 11 years, there have been seven break-ins at the shop where a total of 82 guns have been stolen.
Thursday, deputies seized all the weapons from the gun shop and worked to launch a review of the owner’s gun license.
To operate a gun dealership that sells pistols, you need state approval and federal approval for long guns. Currently, only nine states have laws that specifically require gun store owners to take measures to ensure proper security, New York state is not one of them, and there are also no federal laws that pertain specifically to that either.
The city of Rochester ordinance does require more stringent security measures:
-dealerships must have metal security doors and high-security locks
-windows must be covered with steel bars or metal grating
-requires use of an alarm system
-prohibits displaying firearms in windows when a dealer is open for business, and require use of trigger locks
-outside of business hours, all firearms must be stored in a locked fireproof safe or vault, and secured by a steel rod or cable through the trigger guard
-the ordinance says, “All firearms shall be secured in a manner that prevents the ready removal of the firearms from the premises, as approved by the Chief of Police or the Chief’s designee.”
Chinappi’s is located in Parma however, and is not subject to these requirements.
