CLEARFIELD – A 20-year-old Clearfield man accused of stealing two handguns from a vehicle in April waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Wednesday during Centralized Court at the Clearfield County Jail.
Joseph James Gavlock III, 20, of Clearfield has been charged with theft by unlawful taking; receiving stolen property; theft from a motor vehicle; firearm ownership/duty of other persons; and possession of a firearm prohibited.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Clearfield Borough police received a report about two handguns being stolen from a vehicle sometime overnight April 14-15. The victim told police he noticed his driver’s side door wasn’t shut completely; upon looking around inside, he discovered two handguns were missing from the center console of his vehicle.
The victim told police he had a Heritage Rough Rider .22-caliber handgun inside the center console of his vehicle. This firearm was black in color with a wooden handle; it was located in a nylon holster, which was removed from his vehicle. The victim also told police he had a Glock 22 .40-caliber handgun inside his center console, and it was removed along with its leather Bulldog holster.
Both handguns were entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). Also, a be-on-the-lookout alert was sent out to police departments regarding the alleged theft of handguns, the affidavit states.
On May 11, a resident turned a handgun into police that was located along Pritts Avenue. Police determined it was the .22-caliber handgun entered into the NCIC in April and proceeded to canvas the Pritts Avenue area, which turned up negative results for the missing .40-caliber handgun.
During a death investigation the next day at a Clearfield apartment, police learned about a stolen .22-caliber handgun. Also, police learned that a parole official had visited the apartment looking for a “Joey.”
During a second interview that day, police learned that Gavlock had admitted he “had something that could make some money” while he was at the apartment a couple weeks prior. At that point, he allegedly pulled out a .22-caliber handgun and stated how much money he could make from it. Police also learned Gavlock had admitted to stealing the handgun from a vehicle.
In a third interview on May 12, police asked about Joshua Henderson possessing the .40-caliber handgun. Dillyn Shirey told police that about one month prior, Henderson had the handgun but gave it to him to get rid of, which he did. Shirey declined to inform police to whom he’d given the handgun.
Later that day, police were notified of Henderson’s location. In an interview, he told police that Gavlock had given him the .40-caliber handgun and he found out later that it had been stolen. After learning this, Henderson told police he didn’t want the handgun and gave it to Shirey to get rid of.
During a follow-up interview with Henderson on Sept. 12, he told police Gavlock had two handguns in his possession one or two days after the alleged theft while he was at a Clearfield apartment. He provided a description that matched those stolen from the victim’s vehicle in April. Henderson told police Gavlock admitted to stealing the handguns from a vehicle in East End with plans of selling them.
Police noted that during the course of the investigation, it was learned that Gavlock had been convicted of corruption of minors on Oct. 31, 2013. He was prohibited from possessing, using, manufacturing, controlling, selling or transferring a firearm.