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The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office recovered more than 4,000 stolen items from Arden’s Denny’s Jewelry and Pawn and charged 14 people with felony organized retail theft, according to an Oct. 18 news release.
The two accused, Robert Dennis Lewis Sr. and Robert Dennis Lewis Jr., owned a pawn shop, according to the sheriff’s office. Employees Tammy Gates and Kenneth Gates were also charged.
When asked about the role the four played in the thieves, BCSO spokesperson Aaron Thurber said, “There is an active investigation going on at this time, so it’s unlikely we’ll risk anything further.” I will refrain from revealing details so as not to
Items recovered were primarily from Buncombe County Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, and Sportsman’s Warehouse.
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The sheriff’s office has not yet finalized the estimated cost of the recovered items, but it is “significantly above” initial estimates of $125,000 to $150,000, the release said.
“This continues an active investigation by multiple Sheriff’s Office detectives focused solely on this organized gang of thieves. It will take several weeks to complete as we continue to gather additional information. It’s possible,” Criminal Investigation Service Capt. Angie Tallis said in a statement released.
Shop manager Tammy Gates told The Citizen Times that Denny’s Jewelry and Pawn posted the information on Reed Online. was contacted by a reporter.
“We thought it was helping us, but it was actually holding us back,” she said of LeadsOnline. , there were probably as many as 7 people and they lied and said we were asking them to steal…and we didn’t steal.We have a paper trail and we have LeadsOnline. All to prove we didn’t do anything.”
At the time, she did not know that the employee had been charged.
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that the two people indicted were owners of a pawn shop and two of them worked there. A spokesperson for the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office initially said Denny was not suspected of working for Jewelry and Pawn, but later said it was an internal misunderstanding.
Ryan Oehrli is a breaking news and social justice reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Send tips to coehrli@citizentimes.com.
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