[Music] Attorney General Anthony Brown announced indictments of four individuals this week for a string of burglaries at gun shops those individuals Reigns an age from 16 to 20 and are alleged to have stolen at least 81 firearms from federally licensed firearm dealers they're Ving to hold the young people accountable but in Maryland the theft of a handgun is only a misdemeanor and some say it's cases just like this that highlight why that law needs to change prosecutors say this group of young people spent last Christmas not with their families but instead breaking into gun stores and taking all they could get their hands on they allegedly stole more than three dozen guns from this Capitol height store alone these weapons were sold and traded on the street to individuals prohibited from possessing and carrying firearms creating an increased danger for our community members authorities say the group was targeting gun shops across the region including in Anar Rundle and Baltimore counties Maryland's Attorney General Anthony Brown announcing the indictments earlier this week against the four people including two juveniles for sealing more than 80 weapons only six of the guns stolen have been recovered several in the hands of juveniles this case has a two-fold mission uh one to hold accountable those responsible for breaking the law and two to find a host of stolen guns and remove them from our communities Brown says the mission is accountability but the four are facing dozens of counts of possession of a stolen firearm which in Maryland is only a misdemeanor if the gun is valued at less than $1,500 in the state of Maryland theft under, 1500 is a misdemeanor most Firearms um fall somewhere in that range under $1,500 for the past 5 years a bill in Annapolis to make the possession of a stolen gun a felony failed to become law I think common sense says why would stealing a firearm not be a felony you know people are just completely mystified by this every year in Annapolis the Republicans the minority party brings forth a bill to make stealing a gun a felony every year the Democrats vote it down Republican delegate Kathy Shala says it will once again be a top priority for republicans in Annapolis next session this is an easy one if you're stealing a gun you're probably going to do something criminal with that gun A Gonzalez poll last year found 90% of marylanders agree with the proposed change to the law we've been pushing this issue for years and years and years Republican senator Steve Hershey on WBAL news radio says there needs to be known consequences for criminals when crimes like this are committed at the end of the day you know you might see that if this was a felony and it carried a 5year impr prison sentence or the second offense carried a 10e imprison sentence like we proposed that it end up might being a deterrent to committing these crimes in the first place I'm Kai Jackson thank you for watching here's another video to watch also please take a moment to subscribe to our Channel