Police recover over 70 stolen guns and make two arrests.

Police Captain Mike Sweeney tells KSAL News that two men have been arrested in connection to a burglary at Cleve’s Marine & Sporting Goods Store – after 118 guns were stolen in early April.

Authorities are seeking federal charges against 27-year-old Gregory Walburn and 32-year-old Matthew Hewitt in connection to the case.

Police say on Wednesday night at 11:25pm, an officer on patrol attempted to stop a van driven by Walburn for a traffic violation near 11th and Iron, but Walburn continued driving. Moments later he and a passenger got out of the van and began walking. The passenger was let go, but police noticed Walburn was hiding something in a closed fist.

Once detained police found he was clasping a bullet in his hand. Moments later officers found two hand guns on the ground in the 600 block of W. Ash Street.

Investigators determined through serial numbers that one of the guns had been stolen from Cleve’s. On Thursday night a search warrant was issued for Matthew Hewitt’s apartment at 1310 E. North Street #25, where police found 68 stolen guns.

Police had been looking for Hewitt, and found him in a car at Wal-Mart shortly before the raid on his apartment. Captain Sweeney reports that Hewitt was arrested Thursday at 10:20pm with a stolen gun and marijuana in his vehicle.

During the search of Hewitt’s apartment, police also found meat that was stolen from Prairie Land Market Store in March and April, plus stolen checks from Jack Parr Associates taken in March and some nail polish stolen from Uptown Hair Salon in Salina. Two TVs, a computer monitor and a Blu-ray player were also found. Officers say the electronics were stolen in a burglary that occured in late April on W. State Street.

Officers from the KBI, ATF and Saline County Sheriff’s Office have been working in conjunction to solve this crime since mid April.

Captain Sweeney says the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.