ALBERTVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The owner of an Albertville pawn shop raided last week is now facing federal charges, court documents show.
According to a district court filing, Joe Cephus Campbell III, the owner of Joe’s Pawn Shop, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm — in addition to state charge of first-degree receiving stolen property.
Campbell is not allowed to have firearms due to his status as a convicted felon, the document shows. Records show Campbell has a previous federal weapons conviction. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in the business of selling firearms without a license in 2007. He received a 2-year sentence.
Campbell’s preliminary hearing for the new charge is set for September 7.
In the filing, Phillip Sangster, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), detailed the situation and probable cause for Campbell’s new charge.
Sangster said neither Campbell, nor his business, have a license to sell firearms.
During the search warrant, Sangster said Campbell was found alone upstairs in the “shipping area” of the shop. The agent stated this room is where firearms were “created or modified and then shipped.” Sangster said the room had 3D printers, boxes of magazines, and shipping labels.
Sangster said he believed most, if not all, of the firearms found in the shipping room during the search warrant were not produced in Alabama. He said since those weapons were possessed but not produced in the state, they “necessarily affected interstate commerce.”
As previously reported, Joe’s Pawn Shop was raided on August 4, 2022.
The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office said the stolen items found inside Joe’s Pawn Shop were estimated to be worth $42,000. Officials said just 263 guns, as well as gun accessories and $88,000 in cash, were seized from the store.
A total of six people were arrested in connection to the four-month-long investigation. Sheriff Phil Sims said last week that more charges and arrests are expected. Federal court records on Thursday don’t show any charges for the others arrested last week in the raid.
Campbell is expected to have a bond hearing on August 16 at 10:30 a.m. in the Federal Courthouse in Huntsville.
