Cheyenne man faces 13 felonies, 90-year maximum in gun theft case

Cheyenne police charged Jason Vargas with 13 felonies related to the theft and illegal possession of firearms. The charges carry a combined maximum penalty of nearly 90 years in state prison. Vargas, born in 1992, is presumed innocent until he pleads or is found guilty.

The criminal affidavit lists one count of conspiracy to commit theft, six counts of firearm theft, and six counts of possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a violent felony. Each of the 13 counts is a felony. The charges stem from a months-long investigation that involved multiple searches and a joint raid by Cheyenne police and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Police connected Vargas to a larger local network of firearm thefts and illegal dealing. In April, another suspect allegedly broke into a storage unit in Cheyenne and stole 29 firearms. That suspect reportedly sold the guns with the help of his mother and girlfriend. Text messages from the girlfriend’s phone identified her as a liaison between Vargas and the thief. Vargas was arrested on April 14, 2026, in possession of several firearms that matched descriptions of the stolen storage unit guns.

Police said Vargas bought some of the guns for around $1,000, according to one suspect. A search of Vargas’s residence, a camper trailer on his brother’s property, turned up additional weapons. The brother told police he also owned firearms he had bought from a friend of Vargas’s and that he kept a notarized bill of sale for that transaction.

A confidential source later told police that guns were missed during earlier searches of Vargas’s truck and trailer. The source also said Vargas had originally ordered the April theft. On October 27, Cheyenne police and ATF agents searched Vargas’s home again and found an AR-15 style rifle. By the end of the investigation, officers had located a Girsan Untouchable MC 1911 handgun, a Heritage Rough Rider revolver, a Ruger Single-Six revolver, a KelTec PMR-30 handgun, a GSG Firefly handgun, and a Diamondback DB-15 rifle in his house and truck.

Vargas was released on a $50,000 cash bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 12 at the Laramie County Circuit Court. If the judge finds probable cause, the 13 felony counts will proceed to district court.