Man Sought in Pawn Shop Fraud

An arrest warrant was issued Feb. 6 for a Vian man accused of falsely declaring ownership of items he pawned.

On Jan. 31, Cherokee County Undersheriff James Brown contacted a Sequoyah County Sheriff’s investigator about property that had been stolen out of his county. Brown told the investigator that he knew about some photos of tools found inside a vehicle in Sallisaw that had been towed for having no insurance. Brown said he believed the tools had been stolen in a Cherokee County burglary. 

Brown contacted the investigator again later the same day and advised him that he had seen that Gregory Travis Cullum, 29, of Vian had pawned two Porter Cable routers at a local pawnshop. One of the routers had the name “Kevin Dempsey” on it and the other read “Crotts Construction.” Brown told the investigator that the tools belonged to Bob Crotts. 

The pawn shop’s owner said he was uncertain about accepting the routers because of the names written on them, but Cullum had assured him that he had bought the items himself.

The punishment for false declaration of ownership in pawn is up to six months in the county jail, a fine of up to $1,000 or both.

Laura Brown, KXMX Staff Writer

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