The Lee County Sheriff's office (LCSO) is looking into how a stolen gun was sold to a Pawn Shop and then re-sold.
A Lee County woman, who only wants to be referred to as Gwen, purchased a 9mm Smith & Wesson firearm from Larry's Pawn Shop on April 29, 2016.
In a phone call with Fox 4, the owner of Larry's Pawn shop said he ran the gun's serial number by LCSO before selling it, as he's required to do by law.
At that time, he says he was never told the gun was stolen.
"It was never placed on hold or confiscated from the sheriff's department. As far as they're concerned it was a clean firearm and it was legal for us to sell it," said Chris, Larry's Pawn Shop Owner.
However, a LCSO incident report dated August 29, 2016 states the gun was confiscated during a traffic stop after a serial number check revealed it was stolen.
The report states, deputies gave the gun's serial number to LCSO's dispatch who conducted a search on the Florida Crime Information Center (FCIC) along with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
The search revealed "the firearm was stolen out of Miami and that the case was still active," according to the incident report.
"It somehow slipped through the cracks," said Gwen.
A LCSO spokesperson said via email the department is investigating the matter. When asked if they received the gun's serial number from Larry's Pawn Shop prior to the date it was sold; the spokesperson said, "that would be part of the investigation and not for disclosure at this time."
Gwen is hoping to get a refund from the Pawn Shop.
"These serial number checks, these firearm checks need to be done more thoroughly especially with all the gun crime in this country," said Gwen.
You can check your gun's serial number through FDLE by clicking here.
