(Sioux City)– A Texas man has been sentenced for stealing guns from a Spencer retailer while working with a crew to clean up the store following last year’s historic flooding in the city. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa says 38-year-old Hector Benavidez of Donna, Texas, was sentenced Wednesday to more than 3 years in federal prison. He must also serve a 2-year term of supervised release following the prison term.
Benavidez pled guilty in February of last year to one count of possession of firearms by a felon and one count of possession of stolen firearms. Evidence revealed that during a gun audit of the store, two firearms were discovered to be missing. Law enforcement and the store’s loss prevention department discovered Benavidez and the clean-up crew he was working with had access to the room where the firearms were located and stored. Benavidez admitted to law enforcement he had taken the firearms and stated they were in the hotel room he was staying in. Spencer Police and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office located and recovered the firearms during a search of the room.
Benavidez had previously been convicted of robbery in Texas.
He’s being held in the custody of a U.S. Marshal pending transfer to a federal prison.
