NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) ─ A former Army Reserve member and accused child rapist was arrested in connection to the robbery of 16 firearms from an Army Reserve Center armory in Worcester, Mass.
James Walker Morales, 34, was apprehended by authorities Wednesday in Long Island, N.Y. after DNA evidence and surveillance video connected him to the crime scene, court documents obtained by CBS Boston reveal.
Morales faces charges of unlawful possession of a machine gun, unlawful possession of stolen firearms and theft of government property and is expected for arraignment in the U.S. District Court Friday.
His arrest came days after officials at the reserve center discovered the armory had been broken into and 10 9-mm pistols and six M-4 rifles were stolen. Authorities have not revealed whether the firearms were recovered at the time of the arrest.
Morales is also facing child rape and indecent assault charges filed in May. The alleged thief was outfitted with an electronic monitoring device in relation to the ongoing assault case and was wearing it throughout the robbery. Officials used his recorded whereabouts to confirm his location at the time of the Nov. 14 crime.
Morales reportedly cut the device off two days after the crime.
Two days before the incident, Morales picked up copies of his discharge papers from the Army Reserve Center in Worcester. He allegedly used a power saw and pry bar to enter the armory through the roof, escaping with the stolen weapons in duffle bags.
Earlier in the week, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker expressed “concern” over the stolen weapons Monday, clarifying his worry was not directly associated with potential terrorism.
“I’m concerned about the fact that some really high-caliber weapons were stolen from a military facility in the first place,” he said.
