I used to work for a pawn shop, and every single firearm that came thru, was recorded/listed and LEO's usually came in about once a month to review and check for stolen weapons.

We did have one instance where we took in a stolen firearm. It was returned to the owner and the money we loaned on it, was written off as a loss.

It sounds to me like it's the police's job to get your guns back and you have no business confronting the pawn shop owner.

Original thread said he filed a police report the day after he realized they were stolen.

Here's the thread

web page

OK does anybody know what happened???

The police are involved and after a month with the pawn ticketts showing who stole and pawned them, a warrant has not even been issued yet.

The pawn shop is mad because they are going to loose money (which I can understand) I just approached the guy with the attitude of "hey we can go to court but if you hand them over we wont waist our time". So I can have my property back if I pay the pawn fees $500+ thats to get 2 back and I still have another 2 at 2 differnt pawn shops.

Bottom line it will probably be years before it goes to trial, the relative is hidding in Collin County and a warrant hasnt been issued yet.

Bottom line is theft of firearms is not a top priority case, I understand the police have a back log and I just have to be patient

Also they cannot sell the guns there is a hold on them, they are just refusing to return my property unless I pay them to buy back my own stolen property or I go to a property hearing infront of a judge and the jdge determines who is the rightfull owner.

The guns have had a "stolen gun HOLD"" put on them for about a month now.

I DO NOT WANT ANY MEMBER OF THIS FORUM TO HARASS OR OTHERWISE CONTACT THAT PAWN SHOP REGARDING MY PROPERTY!!!!

The guns are reported stolen and have been for a month they were dicovered stolen at 7pm sunday night and the police report with serial numbers was filed at 8am monday morning.

I will respect your wish to not contact the pawn shop in any way. I'm sure I never will again. Hopefully, you don't get mad that I contacted the Sherman Herald Democrat and suggested that they do a story on the situation.

Not wanting to overstep the boundaries, someone else may want to contact KXII Channel 12.

Thanks for the support guys, I will keep ya'll updated.
The thing that really pisses me off is that im going to school in Huntsville(4 hours from sherman) and since they wont give them back I have to go to 3 different property hearings; and you know that county courts are so great about scheduleing things on the same day lolol.

OH and MR. RICK O"SHAY....The DETECTIVE incharge of the case told me I could contact them about getting my property. So thanks for your opinion, but im following orders here.

Ok, been away on vacation so just saw this thread. I'm sorry if someone allready responded with this info.

I worked in pawnshops thru high school and college. Things may have changed some in the last 23 years - but I doubt much.

The pawnshop has absolutely no recourse or option here. Go to the police, go directly to the police. When I worked in them, we were required to provide the local sheriff and police departments with copies of every transaction. When they came back to us and indicated that an item was stolen, we were required (not obligated, REQUIRED) to hand it over to the police and then provide sworn affidafits as to the transaction and appear in court if need be as a witness.

This pawnshop may not be as honest as the one I worked at, but they still have to follow the law. Go to the law with your paperwork in hand and inform them that you know that your possession(s) are at said pawnshop. They will handle it from there and you will get your property back.

Been there, done that. The pawnshop will try (of course) to get their money back from one of the parties but they will hand it over to the authorities who will see to it that it is returned to the rightful owner.

Like I said, things may have changed but I doubt that much. The POS pawnshop is just running you thru the ringer because the law hasn't come down on them.

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Read the thread, it appears to me that your local LEO's are the ones dragging their feet. In my day there was no such thing as a hold or nothing - we would immediately hand over the stolen material, record it as a loss, appear in court as a witness and provide sworn testimony as to the details of the transaction.

The police could have and should have picked up your possessions by now.

Trust me, the pawn shop isn't loosing any money. I've not worked in one for 23 years but even then our interest rates were 180% annual for interest on pawned items of $100 and something like 240% annual for pawn items of $200 or more..

In other words, an item pawned for $100 would cost $115 to take out in 30 days. If left in pawn, interest would accumulate at the rate of $15 per 30 days - so if you left your item in the pawnshop for 1 year, it would cost $280 to redeem it.

This is how pawnshops make their money. People actually leave their crap in there for YEARS coming in every 3 months to pay their interest.

And then when it DOES come out, its marked up atlest 200-300% above the initial pawned amount.

That is why you NEVER pay sticker price in a pawnshop - and why this pawnshop can afford to hand over the friggin stolen merchandise...

Earl

Earl

Call your local investigative reporter on the news and report that you have evidence that the shop in question is dealing in illegal guns to sell to children and drug gangs.

Pawn shops and gun shows. Is there any place left to buy a good gun at a fair price besides on-line. Forkem all the greedy bastiges. Then they gripe about wal mart etc. putting them out of business ha ha ha.

Sometimes the District Attorneys office tells local law enforcement how it wants thing done as to handleing stolen property.....
The LEO forwards the case to the DA office, The DA prosecutor reviews the case, sends it thru and gets the warrant issued.....

Don't slam the LEO or agency yet...

The DA Office has the final say so in all criminal cases in Grayson Co.
Prosecutorial Discretion......

Find out which prosecutor is going to handle your case...

Yep could well be so RWH24. I worked at one and grew up in Victoria County and the DA there prosecuted these cases to the fullest extent. Hell, the police officers all the way up to the Chief frequented the place on a regular basis. It's a great place to work, you come into contact with every sort of people.

Big Daddy,

Don't get me wrong - pawnshops are generally good places to buy things at great prices, especially jewelry. Often guns too. Independents are better for dealing than the national chains.

If you haven't, report the gun as stolen. The police will put a hold on the gun. They will set a court date to determine the rightful owner. I have been to court over stolen property. 90% of the time the pawn show owner doesn't show. If he does, he will lose usually. The law is on your side, at least it is in Dallas County.

So was the gun reported stolen to the police? If so, was the serial number reported? How much time has passed since you reported it stolen and when you saw it in the pawn shop? I used to audit a rather large pawn shop in DFW and those guys have to sit on stuff for a while after it is pawned before they put in out on the sales floor. I think this is a few weeks. Additionally, some pawn shops provide their inventory databases to a company that complies the data and provides web access to the police department (for a subscription fee).

"So I can have my property back if I pay the pawn fees $500+"

You mean to tell me that you even offered to pay the amount that they were pawned for and they STILL refused?

Quit jacking around. File a police report and get them involved.

If it was reported stolen with the serial number, you will get your gun back...provided you reported it stolen before seeing it in the pawn shop. The shop will have to give it back. The shop can then seek to get their money back from the person they aquired it from. I've never heard of a person not getting their firearm back if it was reported stolen and then found.

I don't think this is the same story bro.