GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A man accused of armed robbery and other crimes in Grand Rapids is now facing federal charges linked to a 2017 break-in at Family Farm and Home in Cedar Springs that netted 89 firearms.
Charles Edward Skipp was indicted this week for the Nov. 2017 theft at the store off of 17 Mile Road east of White Creek Avenue NE.
Nearly half of the 89 stolen weapons were 9mm handguns; only a handful have been recovered.
The indictment charges Skipp with being a felon in possession of firearms, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He’s also charged with stealing firearms from a licensed dealer and aiding and abetting in the theft, which carries a five-year term.
Skipp, 39, is no stranger to police. He was arrested in August and charged with several offenses, including armed robbery, for an Aug. 26 incident on Stewart Street near Buchanan Avenue SW involving drugs and/or guns, court records show.
His bond in that case was set at $500,000. A Grand Rapids police detective wrote that Skipp was a suspect “in multiple felony crimes still under investigation.’’
Skipp, who lists an address on Quigley Boulevard SW east of Buchanan Avenue, has been in trouble since he was a teen.
Prior convictions include shoplifting, carrying a concealed weapon, vandalism, assault with intent to rob while armed, aggravated assault and domestic violence. The offenses took place in Walker and Grand Rapids.
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