Man sentenced to 2 years in prison for stealing 185 guns from Fridley shipping company

A 31-year-old man was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing more than 185 guns and a large amount of ammunition while working at a national shipping company's Fridley facility.

Jason T. Cikotte, of Isanti, Minn., was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis by Judge Ann Montgomery after pleading guilty to possession of stolen firearms in connection with the thefts from XPO Logistics.

Following his two years in prison, Cikotte will be on supervised release for three years.

The criminal complaint noted that Cikotte worked overnight as a weight inspector and had "little to no supervision at work [and] would have no reason to open the pallets of firearms as part of his usual employment duties."

In a filing ahead of sentencing, the U.S. Attorney's Office asked for Cikotte to receive a prison term of three years and one month, which it characterized as on the low end of federal sentencing guidelines.

"Motivated only by greed, Cikotte stole 185 firearms that he further sold or otherwise distributed," the prosecution wrote. "Cikotte appears to have had steady employment and a stable life, and there is no indication that his crime was borne out of desperation or need."

The prosecution acknowledged finding no reason to believe any of the guns fell into the hands of convicts or others with dangerous intent, but "the image of 185 firearms and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition going into communities without any visibility or safeguards is a troubling one."

Defense attorney Kirk Anderson argued for Cikotte to be given "the lowest possible term of incarceration that will send the appropriate message of deterrence and just punishment."

Anderson conceded that Cikotte stole guns by the dozens from his employer and admitted selling or giving them to other people, "however, he has cooperated with authorities to recover most if not all of the firearms."

He also noted that Cikotte served in the Marines in from 2011-15, when his duties included guarding enemy detainees in Afghanistan, where he "would frequently have to turn them over to the Afghan army" for execution.

He encountered death in numerous forms while deployed, including handling bodies for return to family, and the loss of five close friends to suicide and nine more killed in battle, the attorney wrote. Cikotte's experiences in the service left him with post-traumatic stress disorder, Anderson continued.

According to prosecutors:

In August 2021, law enforcement was first notified of gun thefts from XPO Logistics shipments intended for firearms sellers. On March 9, 2022, XPO Logistics told the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that another 11 semiautomatic pistols were stolen from a recent shipment.

The firm's security manager later notified law enforcement that the company had identified the person who had been stealing guns from shipments for nearly a year. The security manager provided investigators with video evidence that showed Cikotte removing boxes of firearms from shrink-wrapped pallets, taking the guns out of boxes and putting them in his vehicle.

Law enforcement searched Cikotte's home and found dozens of guns, all apparently stolen from his employer. Also seized were tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition and various firearm parts and accessories. Cikotte admitted to stealing everything the search turned up. It did not say what Cikotte intended to with the guns.