This rare 1940 Colt Woodsman target pistol was used in about 18 armed robberies since August in Orlando and Orange County. (ORLANDO POLICE DEPARTMENT / November 1, 2007)
Henry Pierson Curtis | Sentinel Staff Writer
November 2, 2007
A rare handgun used in more than a dozen holdups across Orange County turns out to be worth more than all the money the suspect wielding it took from his victims, according to Orlando police.
Confiscated late Wednesday, the 1940 Colt Woodsman Match Target Bullseye pistol was recognized by Detective Matt Deem as the same weapon seen in a series of surveillance videos of convenience-store robberies since August.
"In all the robberies this kid did, you'd probably have to multiply by three just to get to the value of the gun," Deem said, noting that the .22-caliber Colt is worth about $1,800. "I'd love to have it and know where it's been since January 1940. . . . It might have won Camp Perry, for all we know."
Camp Perry, Ohio, is where the NRA National Outdoor Rifle & Pistol Championships take place.
The suspect, Webster Cooper, didn't have a clue what he was carrying, according to police.
The 19-year-old Orlando resident told detectives he bought the gun on the street.
"It had a long barrel, so it looked scary," Deem said. "The kid started crying and gave up everything."
Cooper is charged with robbing a Silver Star Road 7-Eleven store on Oct. 5, Oct. 25 and Oct. 28, arrest records show. He is the lone suspect in at least 15 more armed robberies since early August, police said.
Suspect convicted this year
State prison records show Cooper is serving three years of probation as the result of being convicted earlier this year for carrying a concealed firearm. He is also a registered drug offender.
Videos of the holdups show the same man dressed in black with his head wrapped in a blue T-shirt. In each case, the robber holds a long-barrel pistol that Deem first thought was a Ruger Mark II, a much more common .22-caliber target pistol.
After interviewing Cooper, Deem said he thinks the teen wrapped his head to try to disguise what he described as "big Dumbo ears."
Clerk described gun
A store clerk in one of the holdups gave police the first clue that the serial robber might be armed with an unusual weapon.
The clerk described and drew a picture of what he remembered was a pistol with a flat-sided barrel.
Colt, Ruger, Browning and High Standard all made .22-caliber target pistols, but these are not as common in crimes as 9 mm pistols and .38-caliber revolvers, police reports show.
Valuable guns turn up at crime scenes, but not often.
"I've recovered some Browning Sweet 16's with cut-off barrels and stocks, and it made me want to cry," Deem said about Browning 16-gauge shotguns worth at least $2,000 apiece in unaltered condition.
Police had not been able to determine by Thursday whether the Colt Woodsman had been stolen. Someone removed the original pistol grips, which reduces its value.
Pistol may be destroyed
Recovered stolen guns are destroyed if the legal owner cannot be located. Anyone who recognizes the pistol is asked to call Crimeline at 407-423-8477.
More than half of all guns stolen in Florida and across the U.S. are never reported as stolen because gun owners don't record the serial numbers, according to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Orlando Sentinel research.
In 2001, Florida ranked fifth nationally with 7,434 stolen guns reported to the National Crime Information Center, which collects statistics on thefts of firearms with known serial numbers.
Henry Pierson Curtis can be reached at [email protected]