Two southwest Missouri men are charged with breaking into a small police department and stealing firearms and other law enforcement gear.

The thefts in February at the Sparta police station came when the building was not staffed because all the town's police officers had resigned.

Christian County prosecutors on Wednesday charged Dylan McGinnis, of Sparta, and Rhyan Bower, of Springfield with first-degree burglary and three theft counts.

KYTV-TV reports the thieves took AR-15 rifles, ammunition, bulletproof vests and several uniforms.

A probable cause statement doesn't say whether investigators recovered the stolen weapons.

After relying on the Christian County Sheriff's Department for several months, Sparta has had its own police force for a couple of months.

It was not immediately clear if the two men had attorneys.

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