An Army veteran concerned in a multimillion-dollar heist of fight gear at Fort Hood, Texas, accepted a plea deal Tuesday and is ready to be sentenced this summer season.
Jessica Smith admitted to her position in stealing greater than $2 million value of Army gear, breaking into 17 storage containers with bolt cutters in June 2021 with one other veteran who was a civilian worker on the base, Brandon Brown. His trial is ready for later this spring.
In March 2021, Brown related with Smith, asking for her assist stealing the gear — largely optics troopers use to shoot and function at evening, in response to courtroom paperwork. As a result of Brown was a civilian worker at Fort Hood, he had easy accessibility to the bottom, investigators say. They allege that he additionally instructed Smith they’d give the stolen items to a neighborhood man, Nathan Nichols, who would promote the gear on-line.
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Investigators say the pair stole three PEQ-15 laser vary finders, 57 PAS-13 thermal scopes, 4 PVS-13 evening imaginative and prescient scopes, and 10 PVS-7 evening imaginative and prescient goggles on June 16.
The next day, they allegedly gave the gear to Nichols in Corpus Christi, Texas, some 260 miles from Fort Hood. Nichols additionally pleaded responsible and is ready to be sentenced in June.
Nichols posted the gear on eBay two weeks after the heist, with the stolen items all collectively valued at $2,176,000. Army investigators have been in a position to match pictures on eBay displaying the serial numbers to those who have been stolen from Fort Hood, courtroom information say.
In keeping with Army investigators, solely $1,119,240.00 value of drugs was recovered after federal brokers searched his residence in July.
— Steve Beynon will be reached at Steve.Beynon@navy.com. Comply with him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.
Associated: How Brothers in Arms Plotted Theft, Sale of US Army Weaponry
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