Illinois Guard members arrested in military-gear sales

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/01/17/news/doc45aeb51432624380234125.txt

CHAMPAIGN -- On the Internet auction site eBay, buyers called Christopher R. Henkel of Decatur a reliable, trustworthy seller of military gear and auto parts.

In a complaint filed in federal court last week, the FBI said Henkel, 36, and fellow Illinois National Guardsman — Lee N. Shobe, 28, of Toledo, Ill. — sold thousands of dollars worth of body armor, night-vision equipment and other gear they stole from the Guard.

The Iraq war veterans, arrested Friday after allegedly selling military gear to undercover buyers, were released on their own recognizance Tuesday after appearing in U.S. District Court in Urbana, the federal officials say.

Neither has been formally charged and their cases were bound over to a grand jury, according to the court clerk's office.

Henkel, a Guard captain and Decatur firefighter, and Shobe, a full-time staff sergeant in the Guard, were arrested Friday after allegedly selling military gear to undercover buyers for more than $7,000 late last year, according to the court complaint.

some even take it to pawn shops located next to posts...