Stonington - Two months ago, police found two boys and one of their fathers digging in a wooded area of Mystic, trying to find a .40 caliber handgun.

One of the youths had stolen it from the car of Drug Enforcement Administration agent in 2007. The other boy had buried it.

The details of the incident are contained in the arrest warrant affidavit for Steven M. Zummo, 20, of 34 Deer Ridge Road, Mystic, who was arrested Friday.

Zummo, who allegedly bought the Heckler and Koch handgun for $600 from the teenager who stole it, is charged with criminal possession of a firearm, tampering with evidence and the carrying or sale of a dangerous weapon. He was released on a $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in New London Superior Court on Nov. 5.

According to the affidavit, on June 16, 2007 police began investigating reports of the overnight burglaries of unlocked cars in the area of Pawcatuck Middle School. One of those reports came from a DEA agent who lives in Pawcatuck. He told police that someone had stolen his loaded handgun and holster, a DEA lanyard with two proximity keys and a GPS unit.

This past May, an investigation of a Westerly car burglary led police to the home of a 17-year-old Pawcatuck boy. There they found a radio that had been stolen the same night as the DEA agent's gun. The boy told police he got it from a friend, who was also 17 at the time. Police have not identified the two local boys because of their age.

The boys told police they had gone into 7 or 8 vehicles and stolen items such as an iPod, radios, perfume and the DEA agent's gun and GPS unit that one of them said came from an “unmarked police cruiser like the troopers drive.” The two boys have been arrested for their roles in the thefts, according to the affidavit.

The attorney for one of the boys then called police to say his client told him that Zummo had the gun and had buried it in the woods. When police questioned Zummo, he denied being involved with the gun.

On Aug. 24, the affidavit states, police learned Zummo's grandmother was upset that Zummo, the 17-year-old who stole the gun and the boy's father were on the way to her Deer Ridge Road home to look for the gun.

When police arrived, they said Zummo fled. Detective Cody Floyd could not find the gun. The next day Zummo told police he did not know where the gun was but would “check with some of his street friends” to find out about it.

A few days later, Floyd used a metal detector to find the gun, which was wrapped in paper towels inside three zip-lock bags. The 17-year-old then admitted to stealing the gun and giving it to Zummo, police said.

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