(Reuters) – A Janesville man accused of stealing an arsenal of weapons from a gun shop and sending an anti-government manifesto to President Donald Trump has been arrested after a massive manhunt, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office said on Friday.
Joseph Jakubowski, 32, was taken into custody on Thursday night in southwest Wisconsin, where he appeared to be camping in the rural area, the sheriff said in a statement.
Jakubowski faces charges of armed burglary, felony theft and possession of burglary tools, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Rock County Wisconsin Circuit Court in Janesville on Tuesday.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of nearly 25 years in prison, the complaint said.
Jakubowski is suspected of an April 4 break-in at a gun shop called Armageddon Supplies in his hometown of Janesville, about 70 miles southwest of Milwaukee, in which 18 guns and two silencers were stolen from the store, the complaint said.
Jakubowski, who served time in prison for trying to wrestle a gun away from a police officer, wrote in a letter before the break-in that he wanted to purchase guns to protect himself and his family, the complaint said.
But he was barred from doing so because he is a convicted felon, according to a description of the letter in the criminal complaint. The letter was found by his sister, the complaint said.
Following the break-in at the gun shop, Jakubowski’s truck was found nearby engulfed in flames, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office said. Police believe Jakubowski torched the truck himself.
Investigators have obtained a 161-page manifesto that Jakubowski mailed to Trump. It was filled with barbs directed at officials from all levels of government, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Investigators who analyzed the manifesto were also concerned about “anti-religious views” in the document, which Jakubowski can be seen mailing to Trump in a video posted to social media.
Over 150 officials from local, state and federal agencies joined the hunt for Jakubowski.
(Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago, editing by G Crosse and Shereen Siewert)
