Covington Man Charged with Breaking Into Gun Store, Stealing Firearms David Martin Faces Three Federal Charges   Roanoke, Virginia (May 5, 2016) – A Federal Grand Jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke has indicted a Covington man on federal gun charges related to the theft of a number of guns from a local business, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced today. The Grand Jury has charged David Christopher Martin, 40, of Covington, Va., with one count of being a previously convicted felon illegally in possession of a firearm, one count of transporting stolen firearms and one count of stealing firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer. According to the indictment returned today, on or about April 4, 2016, Martin broke into Mountain Top Hunting and Fishing, a federally licensed firearms dealer located in Covington, Virginia. After allegedly breaking into the business, Martin stole 24 firearms. Martin, who is a previously convicted felon and therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm, is accused of transporting the firearms in interstate commerce to South Carolina. The investigation of the case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offices in Roanoke, Virginia, Charleston, South Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida, the Covington Police Department, the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office, the Bloomingdale, Georgia Police Department, Colleton County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina and the Nassau County Florida Sheriff’s Office. United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. and First Assistant United States Attorney Anthony P. Giorno will prosecute the case for the United States. A Grand Jury Indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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