8 Accused in Theft of Sheriff Dept. Guns : Crime: Investigators say a convicted burglar who had worked at a department training facility broke into it and took 42 weapons. Some were allegedly sold or traded for drugs.

A convicted burglar who had worked off jail time at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Training Facility in Orange broke into a shed and stole 42 handguns, then sold or traded some of them for drugs, Sheriff’s Department investigators said Wednesday.

Brian Lee Blomgren, 20, of Fullerton and seven other people have been arrested in connection with the theft of the handguns, investigators said.

The gun thefts have prompted the Sheriff’s Department to take a closer look at how weapons are stored at the training facility and how the department itself became a crime victim, Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates said.

“We thought (security) was pretty good,” Gates said. “But the criminal mind can figure out a way to get into almost anything.”

The break-in occurred sometime around New Year’s Day, officers said. On Jan. 3, Blomgren and Bonnie Jean Clark, 21, of Fullerton were arrested on suspicion of burglary at Clark’s home in Fullerton, where 11 handguns were recovered, investigators said.

Investigators also recovered an undisclosed amount of “rock” cocaine and narcotics paraphernalia at the residence, according to court documents filed in connection with the case.

Blomgren and Clark were being held in Orange County Jail on $25,000 bail each.

Two more stolen handguns were recovered and four people were arrested at the Best Western Stardust Motel in Anaheim last Thursday. Charged with receiving stolen property were Devin Michael Puckett, 22, of Anaheim, Bradley Dean Denson, 26, of Fullerton, Gretchen Michelle Ales, 25, of Stanton and Richard Joseph Johnson, 22, of Stanton. All four also were being held in Orange County Jail.

Sheriff’s Department Sgt. James S. Lazzaro, who is heading the investigation, said there was a “minor pursuit” before the capture of some of the suspects. He did not elaborate.

Johnson was also charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting at Lazzaro outside the motel. In addition, Johnson and Denson were charged with auto theft--for allegedly stealing a 1982 Mazda pickup found at the motel.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Nunn, who is handling the case against Puckett, Denson, Ales and Johnson, would not elaborate on the charges, referring all questions to the Sheriff’s Department.

In a brief interview at the Orange County Jail, Denson said he knew nothing about the stolen handguns and was simply “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“I was getting a ride home from a friend of mine,” he said. “This is way out of my line.”

Ten more stolen handguns were recovered as a result of searches conducted in Anaheim and Fullerton, Lazzaro said. Altogether, investigators have recovered 23 of the 42 stolen guns. The rest were allegedly sold or traded for drugs in Orange, San Bernardino or Riverside counties, Sheriff’s Department investigators said.

Investigators provided a few details about the burglary at the training facility after mention of the incident in Wednesday’s Times. Lazzaro said the handguns--the majority of them standard-issue Smith and Wesson .38-caliber revolvers--were kept in a shed that was not protected by the alarm system that guards the rest of the training facility.

The training facility, on West Katella Avenue near the Orange Freeway, is used by several law-enforcement agencies for classroom work as well as target practice at the facility’s two firing ranges.

“This took place when no one was around,” Lazzaro said.

Lazzaro would not say what led authorities to Blomgren and Clark. However, he said that Blomgren had worked at the training facility during his sentence on a prior conviction.

“They do anything from rake leaves to mow the lawns out there,” Lazzaro said.

Blomgren recently finished serving a 180-day sentence for violating his probation on a 1988 burglary conviction that involved computers stolen from schools in Anaheim, where Blomgren had been a student. He was back on probation at the time of the gun thefts.

Blomgren is also suspected of committing two other burglaries at the training facility--one in November and one in December--during which power tools and air compressors were stolen, Lazzaro said. A stolen air compressor was recovered during the gun-theft investigation, he said.

Two other people also have been arrested as a result of the gun-theft investigation. Daniel Drew, 35, of Anaheim, was arrested Jan. 5 on suspicion of possessing drugs for sale and possessing explosive devices. Steven Adkins, 21, of Westminster, was arrested Jan. 9 on warrants stemming from drug charges.

Investigators had received information that both Drew and Adkins knew something about the stolen weapons, but no guns were recovered when they were arrested, Lazzaro said.

Lazzaro said he did not know what kind of explosive devices Drew had, or what he might have been planning to do with them.

Times staff writer George Frank contributed to this report.