Show-Me State Times

A Missouri man on Monday admitted to stealing firearms and other items from a farm and home store in Potosi, Missouri, in 2021.

Gregory Snyder, 45, of Bismarck, in St. Francois County, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to theft of firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer and possession of body armor by a violent felon.

He admitted in his guilty plea that he hid in the store on Sept. 19, 2021. He emerged after closing time to steal power tools, camping gear, and 13 guns, including eight rifles and five shotguns. Snyder loaded the guns and some of the other stolen goods into his car and then took them to a river in eastern Washington County. He returned early the next morning for more, but by then, Potosi Police Department officers had spotted evidence of the burglary. They stopped and questioned Snyder, who no longer had the stolen goods in his car. They arrested Snyder later that day. He denied being involved in the burglary but was drinking a Mountain Dew that had been stolen from the store. He was also wearing clothing matching that worn by the burglar and had stolen Kevlar vests in his car.

Two of the shotguns have been recovered. The other guns are among more than $12,000 in stolen goods that remain missing.

Snyder is scheduled to be sentenced on November 6.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Potosi Police Department are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj is prosecuting the case. Anyone with information about the stolen firearms is asked to contact the ATF at 314-768-3120 or online at www.atf.gov/contact/atf-tips or the Potosi Police at 573-438-5468.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, aiming to make neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in communities; supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence; setting focused enforcement priorities; and measuring results.