Fresno man arrested twice for stolen firearms, later released, deputies say

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – A 49-year-old man was arrested twice for suspicion of being involved in a house burglary in Fresno and possessing stolen firearms, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said.

According to deputies, around 3 p.m. on March 12, a burglary in progress was reported at a house located near Van Ness Boulevard and Sierra Avenue in Fresno. The loss was a large gun safe.

Officials say property detectives quickly developed information to show that 49-year-old Thomas Roland of Fresno may have been involved in the house burglary.

A pursuit ensued with Roland, and after stopping him detectives say they recovered 16 firearms, which were stolen from the burglary.

Officials say he was arrested and booked into jail on March 13 on suspicion of the following six felony charges before he bonded out later that same day.

• Evading police
• Burglary
• Possession of a gun by a felon
• Possession of ammunition by a felon
• Concealing stolen property
• Grand theft of a firearm

On March 26, investigators say, Roland reported to his scheduled court hearing where detectives rearrested him based on new evidence related to the service of a search warrant where three more stolen firearms were recovered.

He was booked into jail and bonded out Tuesday evening. Officials say he faces six new felony charges including:

• 3 charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
• 1 charge of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon
• 1 charge of possession of stolen property
• 1 charge of possession of a large-capacity magazine

Roland was found to be in possession of 25 firearms – 19 of which belonged to the Van Ness Boulevard and Sierra Avenue homeowner, three others that were stolen from other counties, and three that were not confirmed to be stolen, but still illegal for him to possess, deputies reported.

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