WEATHERSFIELD — Arrest warrants have been issued for Frank Leland Hilty and Shawn M. Squires in connection to the theft of nine vintage rifles and up to $15,000 in cash from a VFW Post.

Weathersfield police Chief Michael Naples Jr. said Friday morning that Hilty, 51, and Squires, 32, eluded police Tuesday at an Emerson Street home. Three safes empty of cash and weapons were later found in the garage of the home, while the World War II rifles were recovered from another house in the Hilltop area of Weathersfield. Squires is from the Hilltop area, police said.

The three safes were stolen over the weekend from Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7200 in West Farmington after thieves smashed through a block wall with sledgehammers, investigators said.

Naples said that police received a tip that the stolen goods were at a house on Emerson Street in Weathersfield. When officers arrived, they saw two men loading items into a car. The pair got away, with Squires behind the wheel of the car, police said.

Officers obtained a search warrant and found the safes in the garage, Naples said.

Acting on another tip, police recovered the stolen rifles from at house in the Hilltop area.

Naples said that both Hilty and Squires have lengthy police records. Charges have been filed against them, both for obstruction of justice and against Squires for fleeing and eluding, with more charges likely to be filed.

Squires is described as a 6-foot-2, 180-pound white male with brown hair, blue eyes and tattoos on his neck. Hilty is described as a 5-foot-9, 163-pound white male with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Weathersfield Police Department at 330-652-6486 or 330-675-2730.

Read more on this story in the Saturday Tribune Chronicle.