Pawnshop employee told police he stole guns to pay for vacation

INDIANAPOLIS — A Lawrence pawn shop employee allegedly admitted to detectives that he stole 12 firearms from a secure back room of the business and sold several to a friend to finance a trip to Jamaica.

Myron Anderson, 19, of Indianapolis is charged with 12 counts of robbery, a Level 5 felony.

According to court documents, Lawrence police officers were called by the manager of EZ Pawn, located on Pendleton Pike, on June 26 after several firearms were found missing from the pawn shop’s secure back room.

The manager told police that only managers have access to the secure room where jewelry, guns and other expensive items are stored. However, the director said he filmed footage of Anderson removing guns from the room.

Investigators reviewed footage that allegedly showed Anderson entering the secure room to store jewelry before closing the store for the night. Anderson eventually walked to a back corner, just out of view of the camera, where the firearms are stored.

Police said Anderson was then seen leaving the room while trying to hide an item. Anderson repeated this process several times, according to court documents, and then was seen dragging a trash can and a television box to his parked vehicle.

Court documents reveal that when investigators spoke with Anderson, the 19-year-old eventually admitted to the thefts. While the pawn shop manager discovered 19 guns missing, Anderson only admitted to stealing 12 guns.

Anderson told investigators he sold most of the stolen guns to a friend to finance a vacation to Jamaica. Anderson had nevertheless kept some of the weapons and these were recovered by the police.

If convicted, Anderson could face up to six years in prison for a Level 5 felony.