SALT LAKE CITY – Brett Clinton Combs, 41, of Las Vegas, was charged by a federal grand jury in the District of Utah with theft of firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer and being a restricted person in possession of firearms.    

According to the allegations in the criminal complaint and law enforcement affidavit filed by federal prosecutors, Combs used a rock to break into the Dixie Fish and Gun store in St. George during the early morning hours of March 4, 2022. After a “glass break” alarm alerted law enforcement to the incident, St. George police officers responded to find the front glass door of the business shattered and several cases containing firearms damaged. Video surveillance from the business showed a single suspect breaking the front glass door with a rock to enter the business. Continued surveillance footage showed the same suspect breaking several display cases, removing several firearms from the display cases, and then placing the firearms in a duffle bag, before exiting the business. A subsequent inventory of the firearms at the business revealed that 17 firearms, all 9mm semi-automatic pistols, were missing. During the investigation, responding officers discovered a substance resembling blood on broken glass from one of the display cases and submitted the substance to the Utah State Bureau of Forensic Services (UBFS) for analysis. Using the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) for comparison, investigators determined that the blood discovered on the broken glass was a DNA profile match with Brett Clinton Combs of Las Vegas. Additionally, one of the stolen firearms was recovered in conjunction with a separate crime in Las Vegas.  

Assistant United States Attorneys from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah are prosecuting the case. Special Agents from the ATF, along with officers from the St. George Police Department, are conducting the investigation.  

An Indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  

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