Gun Licenses Revoked At Two Fayetteville Pawn Shops

Federal agents cracked down on a pair of Fayetteville pawn shops.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said two of Cumberland Pawn and Loan Company's five stores sold firearms that ended up in the hands of felons.

Authorities say Al Smith and Reginald Curry were not allowed to buy guns, but the pair used fake names to get gun permits. They also allegedly found seven women with clean records and forced them to help.

Authorities say the men made the women go into the pawn shops and buy as many 9-mm "highpoint" handguns as they could. Agents said Smith and Curry then sold the weapons in New York to Dominican drug dealers.

Agents believe the clerks of stores on Raeford Road and Reilly Road knew exactly what was going on and that it went on for months. Federal authorities wanted the store clerks to do time, but federal prosecutors did not think they had enough evidence, so they decided to get the stores' gun licenses revoked.

Smith and Curry were later caught. They were convicted and sentenced to years behind bars. The other three pawn shops are not in trouble with the law.