MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) – Multiple people, including the owners, were arrested after federal agents raided an Albertville pawn shop on Thursday.
Joe’s Pawn is located off Highway 431 in between Albertville and Guntersville city limits. The store has an Albertville address.
Several News 19 viewers reached out to us after they saw a heavy police presence at the store Thursday afternoon. When News 19 arrived on the scene and spoke to a neighboring business, they said authorities had been there most of the day. Authorities were seen removing items from the business and loading them into a trailer.
Here’s the reporting from the Thursday, 5 p.m. newscast:
An FBI spokesman told News 19 that the U.S. Secret Service and the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms were the agencies on the scene. An ATF spokesperson told News 19 that the Secret Service was leading the investigation and called in ATF agents after several guns were found on the property.
Late Thursday night, Joe Campbell III, 47, was booked into the Marshall County Jail and charged with receiving stolen property in the first degree. According to state property records, he is the owner of the pawn shop. His preliminary hearing for this charge is scheduled for Sept. 7.
He is listed as the incorporator and registered agent for two businesses, both at the address of Joe’s Pawn Shop, according to state business records. The first, Joe’s Pawn Shop, Inc., was established in 1998, but dissolved in 2010. The second, Joe’s Check Cashing, Inc., was established in 1999 and still active as of Friday afternoon.
Campbell also has a prior federal weapons conviction, court records show. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in the business of selling firearms, without a firearms license in 2007. He received a 24-month sentence, court records show.
An ATF spokesperson told News 19 they were brought in Thursday because guns were involved, but it’s still not clear what the raid was focused on. The Secret Service told News 19 that the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office would be the contact for any questions on the investigation.
Marshall County Sheriff Phil Sims provided a limited update today.
“My investigators, Secret Service, and our partners are still putting the case together,” Sims told News 19. “We’re still getting information — it’s a major case — so it takes longer than a few hours to really put together everything that we need.”
Sheriff Sims identified two of those arrested as 75-year-old Wandarine Campbell and 21-year-old Santo Andres to the Sand Mountain Reporter. Both were booked on charges of buying and receiving stolen property.
Here’s the reporting from the Thursday 10 p.m. newscast:
According to tax records, Wandarine Campbell is an owner of Joe’s Pawn Shop. She was released on a $50,000 bond Thursday night.
Three other people are listed in the Marshall County Jail log as having been charged with buying/receiving stolen property on the same day as the other arrests, but the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office declined to say how many people were arrested in connection with Thursday’s raid.
The next update is expected at a news conference held by the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office at 2 p.m. Monday.