A Columbus man has been sentenced after previously pleading guilty to stealing firearms, appliances and 162,000 rounds of ammunition destined for delivery to the Columbus Division of Police.

James M. Scaff, 33, appeared Thursday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, where Judge Kimberly Cocroft sentenced him to eight years, nine months in prison for multiple break-ins and thefts he and Christopher Lee Kimmel, 37, committed on the West Side of Columbus.

Scaff pleaded guilty Nov. 8 to 13 counts, including breaking and entering, grand theft, receiving stolen property, tampering with evidence and having a weapon under disability. Kimmel pleaded guilty Dec. 1 to multiple charges related to two thefts he participated in with Scaff and was sentenced to six years in prison.

The pair committed a total of three burglaries, according to court records:

• On March 24, Scaff and Lee broke into a warehouse on Distribution Drive and stole seven generators and more than $70,000 worth of appliances using a stolen delivery truck.

• On March 30, Scaff, working alone, broke into a warehouse on Georgesville Road and stole $3,492 worth of appliances using a stolen delivery truck.

• On April 2, Scaff and Kimmell broke into a warehouse on Journal Street and stole $64,000 worth of ammunition slated for delivery to the Columbus Division of Police.

Grove City police arrested Scaff on April 4 on suspicion of having a handgun and an AR-15 assault rifle in his vehicle. Scaff was not allowed to have firearms due to a previous burglary conviction.

The stolen bullets — 162,000 rounds of 5.56 ammunition for assault-style rifles like an AR-15 — were going to be used for training purposes, Columbus police said. Because the bullets were earmarked for training, the theft did not result in a shortage of bullets for officers on the street.

Police discovered the theft when a shipment arrived with only one pallet of bullets instead of the expected two. The division contacted Winchester, the ammunition supplier, to determine whether supply chain issues delayed delivery and found that the bullets had been stolen.

The stolen crates of ammunition were labeled for delivery to Columbus police, but the division noted that once removed from the crates, boxes or individual rounds would not be traceable. The ammunition could easily be sold at gun shows, on social media or otherwise.

Dispatch reporter Bethany Bruner contributed to this report.

bagallion@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus man who stole 162,000 rounds of police ammo sentenced