Path of illegal guns in youths’ hands concern for law enforcement, the public

With some recent cases of homicides and other violence in Lawton involving teens and guns, the question is: “How do they get in these young hands?”

In the June 4 shooting death of Sir Daniel Smith, 23, four teens have been charged as youthful offenders for their alleged roles. A fifth teen was originally charged as a juvenile but was charged as an adult with first-degree murder on Friday.

Testimony in the preliminary hearing for Dwayne Smith Jr., 15, regarding the case indicated all of the six teens accused in the shooting death were armed, with five firing their weapons. Two of the guns were fully automatic. The oldest teen involved was 17; Demontez Mountain said his brother gave him his gun. He described the weapons carried by all in the vehicle with an expertise. When asked how he knew the weaponry so definitely, he replied: “I know a lot about guns.”

Not all these guns are “gifts,” and none are legal for the teens to possess.

Cabelka said many of these guns in teens’ hands, he’s found, have been stolen. Then they can ultimately go through a network of hands.

“Once the guns are stolen they can go through many hands before the person is caught with it during the commission of a crime,” he said. “It is not uncommon for us to catch guys with guns that are stolen from towns or states far away from Lawton.”

The same firearms have been found to have been used in many crimes, according to Cabelka. There’s a way of tracking these weapons, thanks to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

“Thanks to new technology and databases both state and nationwide, it is now very easy to see if a gun has been used in other crimes,” he said. “OSBI FastTRAX system is relatively new, but we have used it a lot in the few months that it has been running.”

Law enforcement can have ballistics testing done on spent shell casings or projectiles and put that data into the national database called NIBIN, Cabelka said. Then, if casings or projectiles are tested in the future, it can notify law enforcement if the same gun has been used.

“We have had multiple shootings and homicides this year that we can tie some of the guns used in our crimes in Lawton to other shootings in Lawton as well as other cities like Oklahoma City,” he said.

Lawton Police Detective Clay Houseman testified that through the OSBI FastTRAX, it was learned the shell casings recovered from the scene of Sir Daniel Smith’s shooting and the vehicle the teens were in revealed that three separate Glock 9mm handguns were used. Although no guns used in the crime have been recovered, Mountain testified three Glocks were possessed by the teens.

Cabelka said that through OSBI FastTRAX, it was determined the shooting of Sir Daniel Smith involved two guns also involved in two Lawton shootings and one in Oklahoma City.

How the guns get around includes the network of street gangs. The five teens investigators believe were involved in Sir Daniel Smith’s death are alleged to be members of “The 5,” a Blood street gang set or clique. Cabelka said it’s a plague for law enforcement and a danger for citizens.

“Criminals trade, buy and sell guns at a rate that is staggering,” he said. “A gun for a criminal is like currency for us normal, law-abiding citizens. It is very difficult to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.”

Because these weapons aren’t legally available to these teens or for many involved in violent crime, Cabelka said many come from thefts. He said people can help prevent thefts by making sure firearms are always secured in your homes in a safe or a lock box. Also, don’t leave weapons unattended in your vehicle, even if it is locked.

“The last thing, and maybe the most important, is to always report when a firearm is stolen,” he said. “It is shocking how often people don’t report it when a gun gets stolen from them. One main reason that I have experienced as to why stolen guns aren’t reported is that people don’t have serial numbers for their firearms. So, when they get stolen, the gun owner doesn’t report it.”

The way you can help ensure investigators have a leg up if your firearm is stolen is pretty simple.

“When a person legally buys a gun, they should always document the make, model and serial number for their firearms, just in case,” he said.