Ind. man accuses stripper in theft of 16 guns

KOKOMO, Ind. -- An Indiana man has accused a stripper of stealing his guns.

He says the woman, who he knew in passing, showed up at his door last winter without a coat and shivering.

Over his wife's objections, he let the woman move in. But now, he blames her for taking more than a dozen weapons from his home.

"And that's another thing: Don't let strippers in your house," Billy Swaggerty said.

Swaggerty learned that lesson too late after a letting a young woman sleep for months in the spare bedroom where he kept all his guns.

"And it came back and bit me. I have handguns or had handguns, assault weapons, 22s, shotguns. I like 'em all," he said.

Sixteen guns in all stolen by somebody who kicked in Billy's backdoor last May and knew where his guns were locked up.

"I didn't buy a quality safe. Yeah, it was steel, but it was thin steel. Also, I didn't bolt it to the floor and that was a main issue right there," Swaggerty said.

Recent federal statistics show millions of new guns are added to America's arsenal every year.

Through August 31, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department reported 555 cases of stolen guns in the city, about half of those coming from vehicles often left unlocked, reports WXIN.

"I think the proliferation of guns is connected to the increase in murders that Indiana has experienced which I think is up 4.1 percent in the last year," said Indiana University law professor Jody Lynee.

That's what has Billy Swaggerty worried.

"My worst fear is one of my guns is gonna kill a child," Swaggerty said.

Police say the investigation is still open and they may have some good leads. Swaggerty says he thinks he knows the name of the man who ended up with his guns.