Burglars target guns in pawn shop break-in

Spokane police urgently are seeking help from the public to find one or more burglars who pried open a steel door early Wednesday and stole about 70 guns from a pawn shop on East Sprague Avenue.

Officers received a call from a security company about 3:45 a.m. about a burglar alarm at Double Eagle Pawn, at 3030 E. Sprague Ave. They arrived about 20 minutes later and found the building empty.

The burglars had cut wires, attempting to disable the alarm system, the building’s electrical system and phone lines, Deputy Chief Al Odenthal said.

“This is a lot of guns. That is a lot of firepower,” Odenthal said. “We currently have a significant complement of officers and detectives assigned to this case.”

The department also asked for help from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate the theft. Odenthal said law enforcement officials are concerned that the stolen handguns, shotguns and semiautomatic rifles could find their way to local gangs, drug trade or anti-government groups.

“It could just be a burglar trying to make a quick buck. But it’s a fairly sophisticated burglar trying to make a quick buck,” he said.

Double Eagle manager Ken Craudell said his security company called him at home and police were already at the scene when he arrived.

“We figured a steel door on steel frames reinforced by concrete would be enough,” Craudell said. “This was not some fly-by-night thief.”

Craudell had installed digital cameras throughout the store to augment the electronic burglary alarm. Those cameras were operating at the time of the burglary, he said. The tapes have been turned over to police.

The burglar, or burglars, used some sort of large tool to pry the back door open. Despite cutting several wires, the thieves were unable to shut off the audible alarm. Odenthal estimated that they spent only 15 to 20 minutes inside the store.

“They didn’t go into the jewelry items, they didn’t tamper with the safe. They went directly to the handguns,” Craudell said.

One of the cameras had been knocked off the wall above the glass case where the guns were stolen. Farther up that same wall, someone fired two blow darts into the stuffed rear end of a white-tailed deer.

“Those weren’t there yesterday,” Craudell said, looking at the two darts. “I’ve grilled my employees hard and nobody admitted doing it.”

The detectives don’t believe the burglars shot the darts, Craudell said. “But it would be a trademark thing to do.”

Craudell spent the morning with investigators cataloging the stolen guns. He didn’t yet have an estimate of the value of the firearms.

Odenthal said it appeared that the burglar had prior knowledge of the store’s setup. All of Craudell’s employees have been interviewed.

Police released the photograph of a man who shopped in the store on Sunday. They wouldn’t say why the man was a person of interest, only that he made a purchase “that we are curious about.”

The man is not a suspect. But police want to identify him and talk to him. “He may be able to help us,” Odenthal said.

As Craudell spoke about his losses, representatives from Allied Security arrived at the back door of the business.

“I’ve got a guy in the back fabricating a mini-Fort Knox,” Craudell said. “With what we are going to change, there will be no way to come in short of a bulldozer.”

Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to call Crime Check at 456-2233. Secret Witness is also offering a $1,000 reward for information that solves the crime. Callers who dial 327-5111 do not have to give their names to be eligible for the reward.