Police Uncover and Prevent  Suspect’s Plot to Shoot Students After Suspect’s Father Reports Theft of Guns to the Police

 PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 10 –  In Pottstown this week, police announced the arrest of a 15-year-old boy who stole his father’s handguns and planned a violent assault on fellow students.  The key break for law enforcement came when the boy’s father reported his stolen guns to the police, who investigated, uncovered the plot, and prevented a major tragedy.

 CeaseFirePA is advocating statewide for a reform requiring handgun owners to report their lost or stolen firearms to the police, and the Pottstown incident, in which tragedy was narrowly averted, points up the urgent need for this common-sense reform.

 “The story of what nearly happened in Pottstown – and what did not happen because a handgun owner reported stolen guns to the police – is a perfect example of why we need a lost or stolen handgun reporting law in Pennsylvania,” said CeaseFirePA executive director Joe Grace. “Because that father promptly reported the theft of his guns, police uncovered the son’s plot, a terrible tragedy was averted, and lives were saved. It’s no wonder police and law enforcement are the strongest supporters of a lost or stolen handgun reporting law.”

 Montgomery County law enforcement officials said their investigation began Nov. 11th when Michael Yanis, 52, reported to police that three handguns – a .357-caliber Smith & Wesson, a .22-caliber Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol, and a .45-caliber Colt semi-automatic pistol, along with 300 rounds of ammunition, were stolen from a gun locker in his home.

 Yanis’ son, Richard Yanis, 15, initially denied any knowledge of the  theft of the handguns from his home, police said. But as police pursued their investigation, a friend of the boy’s told police the suspect gave him the guns for safe keeping, and the suspect had spoken of his plans to retrieve the guns and return to his school after January 1st to shoot fellow students.

 Once police recovered the stolen guns, they questioned Yanis again, and this time Yanis admitted he removed the guns from his family’s home and gave them to his friend who was supposed to hold them for him, police said.

 Police and law enforcement organizations throughout Pennsylvania and the country support a law requiring handgun owners to report their lost or stolen guns to the police within a reasonable time frame of when they discover them missing. Police say lost or stolen handgun reporting laws help them crack down on illegal trafficking in handguns by people who buy guns in bulk and sell them to criminals at inflated prices. When police recover one of those weapons at a crime scene, they trace the crime gun back to the original purchaser who too often says the gun was lost or stolen, and the investigation is at a dead end.

 Four Pennsylvania cities have passed lost or stolen handgun reporting ordinances: Philadelphia, Allentown, Pottsville and last week, Pittsburgh. Other cities, including Reading, Lancaster, York, Bethlehem and other communities are considering similar action.  The Pennsylvania General Assembly voted on a statewide lost or stolen handgun reporting law last spring, but the measure was defeated after a historic debate and vote on the House floor. CeaseFirePA continues to advocate for a statewide lost or stolen handgun reporting law.

 In testimony before Pittsburgh City Council last month, Pittsburgh Police reported that in 2007 and 2008 thus far, police have recovered 1,900 firearms during criminal investigations, but only 231 of those recovered guns were previously reported missing or stolen.

 Police Chief Nathan Harper testified a lost or stolen handgun reporting law would help his investigators trace crime guns and work to interrupt illegal sales of handguns to criminals. Testimony showed that homicides in Pittsburgh in 2008 are nearing an all-time high, with most of those murders caused by handguns.

 CeaseFirePA executive director Grace said he hoped Pittsburgh Mayor Ravenstahl would take note of the preventive aspect of reporting lost or stolen guns as he considers signing that city’s ordinance into law. “Reporting stolen handguns to the police can save lives,” Grace said. “We urge Mayor Ravenstahl to sign that ordinance to improve public safety in Pittsburgh. Reporting lost or stolen guns to police will help prevent gun violence – that’s what the Pottstown incident reveals.”

 Other police and law enforcement organizations support a lost or stolen handgun reporting law. The Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Police Chiefs Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and numerous local police departments, fraternal police groups, and prosecutors support this reform.

 Seven other states have lost or stolen handgun reporting requirement laws.  Other cities across the country have also approved this reform, including New York City, Hartford, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, and Columbus, among others.