Man charged with selling stolen gun

A Georgia man remains in Highlands County Jail without bond after being charged with dealing in stolen property in connection with a stolen handgun that was recovered and fired in a suspicious incident, possibly a robbery.

Samuel Nicholas Metz, 18, of Thomasville, Ga., formerly from Avon Park, was being held on $25,000 bond set on the dealing in stolen property charge.

However, Metz is being held without bond on violation of probation charges for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

The recovered handgun, a .22-caliber Heritage Rough Rider revolver, was reported stolen to the Highlands County Sheriff's Office on July 3 from an Avon Park home.

The pistol was recovered during an investigation into a suspicious incident 2 1/2 months later on Sept. 19, when it was fired near North Commerce Avenue, in Sebring.

Sebring police interviewed a witness who said he saw four men standing near a small white car parked on North Commerce Avenue, the report stated.

Two of the men were dressed in dark clothing.

He said he watched them for a few minutes, then he heard what he believed were two gunshots from a .22-caliber pistol, the report stated.

When he heard the gunshots, he told police he saw the white car drive off. The two men in dark clothing took off running, he said.

The witness told police he ran after them, caught up to one and tackled him. But during a struggle, the man kicked the witness in the chest and took off running again, according to the report.

That's when Sebring police arrived on scene and searched for the men. Police spotted two men in dark clothing running in the 2000 block of Lakeview Drive.

The two men saw the police, and then split up running in opposite directions. One suspect was caught near the Highlands Independent Bank drive-thru at Franklin Street. He was arrested and charged with loitering and prowling.

A sheriff's K-9 unit and Sebring police officer tracked the second suspect, finding a left sneaker and the stolen handgun about 150 feet west of where the first suspect was caught. The second suspect got away.

Police checked out the weapon. Two shots had been fired and four live rounds remained in the cylinder, the report stated.

Sebring police learned the second suspect's possible identity and, while he was arrested in October on an unrelated gun charge, that suspect has not been charged in this incident, according to Sheriff's Central Records.

On Sept. 19, police investigators also interviewed a 36-year-old victim about the incident. One police officer's report listed this victim as uncooperative.

The victim reportedly told police that he was hanging out at an apartment for a while and was preparing to leave when two men dressed in dark clothes came from behind the apartment building. They backed him up against his white pickup truck, the report stated.

Reviewing the report, the victim did not mention a second male victim was with him.

He told investigators that one of the darkly dressed men told him, "Give me what you got." However, they did not take anything from him, he claimed.

He told investigators that he heard a pop, but thought it was a firecracker, the report stated.

A second alleged victim seen by the witness was never located and never came forward during the investigation.

During an investigation into the recovery of the stolen gun by the Highlands County Sheriff's Office it was learned that a man named "Sam" attempted to sell the gun at a location that had been omitted from the report.

The prospective buyer told investigators that Sam appeared to be very nervous "constantly looking around for law enforcement," the report stated.

The prospective purchaser told investigators he did not buy it because it was "ugly" and was a small caliber.

However, the report stated the gun was sold a short time after it was stolen in July and alleged that "Sam Metz" assisted in the sale and profited in the sale of the pistol.

Metz's arrest report was not released in its entirety because it contained investigative information and remained under investigation.