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Convicted Felon Charged With Stealing, Pawning Gun
February 13, 2013
A convicted felon from Century is facing two felony charges after allegedly stealing a gun and later pawning it.
Joshua Duane Griffis, age 26 of North Century Boulevard, was arrested this week for possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and grand theft of a firearm for an incident back in October 2012. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $30,000 bond.
Griffis allegedly went to a residence on Green Village Road in Walnut Hill and told a person known to him that he needed to look for a cell phone charger he had left in the home. The victim, due to a medical condition, was unable to follow Griffis to the rear of the home. Griffis left the residence, telling the victim he was unable to find the phone charger.
The same day, the victim discovered his .22 caliber revolver was missing. The victim’s wife confronted Griffis. According to an arrest report, and he said that he had let a friend working offshore borrow the gun but it would be returned soon.
The victim’s wife later located the gun at State Line Pawn in Atmore where it had been pawned by Griffis, the report states. Pawn shop employees told her they would keep the firearm until she could come in and pay for it, deputies said.
Comments
17 Responses to “Convicted Felon Charged With Stealing, Pawning Gun”
why? do these people that dont deserve another chance get chance,after chance,after chance,,i hope he gets jail time when he goes to court,,probally wont though,our justice system is so screwed up.
Thank you Jason for the 411. I Just wonder why they make the owner buy the gun back. If I buy a hot gun… unaware, then I am breaking the law, so therefore it should be against the law for a shop to buy hot goods as well.
An example on how gun control will be ineffective.
I know the owner of this Pawn shop, she is a very sweet Lady , Believe me if any Question to her being honest, well let me tell you he new when he stole it and pawned it . it would come Back on him. she does have the police come in her business often , she would not have let him pawn it , What people don’t know is what money he got from that pawn , she’s lost her money ,and I can tell you this she’s the type lady if its stolen , she believes the rightful owner should have it back. so don’t blame the pawn shop.
Rodney…in Florida, the pawn shops have no way of identifying stolen items before the items is pawned. When an item is pawned, the pawn shop is required to get a valid photo ID of the person pawning the item.These pawn shops also collect the right thumbprint of the person in addition to the photo id.(FSS 539.001 #8c)
A statement that the seller of the item represents and warrants that it is not stolen, that it has no liens or encumbrances against it, and that the seller is the rightful owner of the goods and has the right to enter into the transaction. (FSS 539.001 #8)
Each pawn shop completes a pawn ticket which is collected by the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office then completes a check to determine if any pawned items have been reported stolen. Any item determined to be reported stolen, will have a hold placed on them by the Sheriff’s Office. FSS 539.001 #16, indicates that a hold may be placed for no more than 90 days.
FSS 539.001 #15a details the way a claimant can obtain property that was fraudulently transferred to a pawn shop. In most cases, the victim finds it easier and quicker to re-purchase their “stolen” proper that was fraudulently transferred versus waiting on a court order that can only be obtained once the suspect is convicted a the crime of theft and fraudulent transfer.
No one likes being a victim twice. ie…having their stuff stolen and then having to purchase it back. But, that is often the fastest way to obtain their property.
If a suspect commits fraud by stating they our the legal owners of property when that property is actually stolen, they commit a Felony…the degree of which is determined by the amount of money the suspect receives from the pawn broker.
I am puzzled about how bail is determined. I know someone who was charged with a misdemeanor trespassing and their bond was set at $50,000. This Griffis fellow is a felon, out on bond and stole and pawned a gun and yet his bail was set at $30,000. The only difference is the first bail was set in Escambia Co Alabama and Griffis’s was set in Escambia Co Florida. Do any of you know why there is such a big difference in the amount of bail?
Yeah I worked at State Line Pawn until I was 19. They are very thorough in what they do. When an individual comes in to pawn an item they first get the ID from that individual to fill out all of the paperwork. They have a very close relationship with the local police department. Every week they have one of the Investigators from the PD come over to review all of the forms to determine if any of the firearms they have were listed as “stolen”. If anything is found, the gun is returned to the original owner. These people at State Line are not crooks. This is their business and they do not want anything like this to put an end to things.
When a pawn shop pawns or buys anything they must get ID . They have ot run serial numbers on weapons and most electronics and when something is a stolen item they must give it to the police department. They dont collect anything back from the original owner and the owner gets their property back free of charge.
Not sure about Florida but Alabama Pawn shops have to turn in a copy of all Gun Pawn tickets to law enforcement, they are then entered into the National registry of lost/stolen guns.
Be careful of who you allow into your home.
Dosn’t sound like it was reported stolen.
He needed money so he stole a gun, he is already out on bond, If I am correct someone had to put up 10% or $3000. I was told a convicted felon with a gun is an automatic 5 years in prison in Florida. Why is he out on the street? Keep your doors locked!
It might have been pawned before it was reported stolen..
Background checks are always a good idea even if guns get stolen..
That’s another thing I don’t agree with, pawn shops taking stolen items especially guns.. And did she have to buy it back? Of coarse she did…. the pawn shop wouldn’t have taken a loss on it…. so wrong they should be fined for taking stolen guns!!!! JS
if pawn shop did a ckeck, then stolen gun counldn’t be sold at pawn shops.
Amen Jane!!
This is why just having honest citizens pass a gun check won’t keep guns out of the hands of criminals. They just steal guns or buy them from another criminal. Good job LEOS!