MANKATO -- The Jewell County Sheriff's Office has arrested three juveniles in connection to the theft of multiple firearms in the county.
The investigation began on Nov. 14, 2020, with a burglary in Mankato in which seven firearms were stolen, according to a news release posted earlier Tuesday on the Jewell County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.
"Since the initial report, there have been 4 additional burglaries, 3 being in Mankato and 1 in Burr Oak, with a total of 18 firearms stolen. Along with the firearms there were also jewelry, knives, money, and narcotic pain medications that were stolen," the release noted.
According to information from the sheriff's office, investigators discovered that a juvenile was attempting to sell firearms over Snapchat. The firearms matched the description of the firearms stolen in the recent burglaries, the sheriff's office noted.
On Thursday, the sheriff's office, with the assistance of the Beloit Police Department, arrested three juveniles on the following requested charges, the release noted.
Five counts of felony burglary
Fifteen counts of felony theft
Two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance
According to the sheriff's office, no firearms have yet been recovered and the case remains under investigation.