A dozen handguns were stolen from T & J's Gun N Pawn in downtown Cloquet last week, and a Cloquet man is being held in connection to the crime, according to Cloquet police.
Most of the guns, however, still are missing.
Police received a call to the shop at 10:45 p.m. Nov. 18. The front door glass of the shop was smashed in, along with the glass in the gun cabinet from which the handguns -- including automatic pistols and revolvers -- were taken, said Darrin Berg, a Cloquet Police detective.
Police then received a call at 4 a.m. the next morning from the Cloquet Wal-Mart, where a man was attempting to buy 45-caliber bullets, Berg said. The man didn't have the necessary state-issued identification to purchase the bullets and acted in a way that made the Wal-Mart employee suspicious enough to call 911, Berg said.
When they arrived, police saw a gun in the man's waistband and hand-cuffed him for safety reasons, Berg said. Upon checking the serial number of the gun, police saw it matched one missing from the pawn shop and arrested the man. He has been charged with possession of stolen property.
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There is a reward for the return of the remaining weapons, which Berg estimated cost between $400 and $500 apiece. Call Cloquet police at 879-1247 with information regarding the crime.
"We're concerned about recovering the firearms," Berg said, who noted they've likely been stashed. "I don't want some [kids] to come across them and start playing with them."
