Police: officer's stolen AR-15 sold multiple times

BENTON, AR - An AR-15 - stolen out of a Benton police officer's car - has already been sold multiple times, according to police reports.

So far police have arrested six people in connection with the theft, most recently Randall Harris and Ralph Watts. Police reports show Harris admitted selling the AR-15 to Watts. Watts said he sold the gun to someone named Brian.

Long story short, police have six people in custody but no gun.

"It's never a good feeling whenever you have something like this that is still missing," said Benton Police Spokesperson Lt. Kevin Russell. He says detectives are checking every lead possible, including pawn shops. But Tim Hopper, who works at Sue's Pawn Shop in Benton, thinks it's more likely the gun would be sold on the streets.

"Most people that steal things like this usually are smart enough to know that if they come to a pawn shop with it," he explained, "we have to see their i.d., we're gonna know exactly where they live, how old they are, their name."

So the search for the missing AR-15 continues. Police admit they may never find the gun.

"In these kind of instances sometimes this stuff just disappears underground," said Russell.

Police aren't releasing the name of the officer who lost his gun at this time. He is the subject of an internal investigation though, and will continue working until that investigation is complete.