E. ST. LOUIS, IL — A federal grand jury in East St. Louis, Illinois, has returned an indictment charging three area men with conspiring to steal and sell sensitive equipment and other property belonging to the United States military. Brandon Schulte, 43, of Jefferson City, Missouri, Jody “Joe” Stambaugh, 50, of Nashville, Illinois, and Gary Stambaugh, 77, of Fayetteville, Illinois, are accused of conspiring with each other and others unnamed to steal military uniforms, tactical robots, night vision sights, high frequency radios, and other functional military equipment.

According to the indictment, Gary Stambaugh and Joe Stambaugh were co-owners of Stambaugh Enterprises, a scrap metal company located in Mascoutah, Illinois. Stambaugh Enterprises allegedly operated as a subcontractor on a Department of Defense (D.O.D) contract to pick-up, transport, and recycle scrap metal items from multiple D.O.D facilities in Illinois and Missouri, including Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County, Illinois, and a Missouri Army National Guard facility in Jefferson City, Missouri. The indictment alleges that the Stambaughs were obligated to mutilate and destroy all military property they hauled away from each DoD facility and were prohibited from reusing or refurbishing any military items for their own use or selling any military items to be reused or refurbished by someone else. From January-October 2017, Joe Stambaugh allegedly provided an unnamed person identified as J.S. with numerous military items to be sold for profit, including LED video screens, a high frequency radio, military night vision sights, a military antenna system, military flight helmets, and a military infrared thermal imager.

Brandon Schulte was a national guardsman responsible for properly storing and disposing of military property at the Missouri Army National Guard facility in Jefferson City. According to the indictment, the Stambaughs received military uniforms and other unauthorized, sensitive military property from Schulte, even though Schulte allegedly knew the Stambaughs were authorized to receive only scrap metal. The indictment charges Schulte with conspiring with the Stambaughs from 2015-2018, as well as making a false statement about his conduct to federal agents in 2019.

If convicted, the Stambaughs face up to 10 years in prison on each of their three theft counts and up to 5 years in prison for the conspiracy. Schulte’s conspiracy count and separate charge for making a false statement each carry a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.