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North Texas man accused of stealing 7 rifles, 5 shotguns and 1 pistol from pawn shop

A Plano man was charged Tuesday with stealing more than a dozen firearms from a North Texas pawn shop and then driving away, a federal prosecutor said.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton said in a news release that Christian Alfredo Benitez-Ramirez, 28, was charged via criminal complaint with theft from a federal firearms licensee.

The Plano man was arrested Monday at his home and he made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez on Monday afternoon.

If convicted, Benitez-Ramirez faces a maximum of 10 years in a federal prison.

The Plano man is accused of stealing seven rifles, five shotguns and one pistol from Cash America Pawn in Duncanville on Jan. 30.

Benitez-Ramirez allegedly entered the Cash America Pawn, walked to the rear of the store, reached over the counter, and attempted to open the sliding door of a firearm display cabinet, according to federal court documents.

When the door didn’t open, the Plano man got himself over the counter and tried to gather an armful of guns from a rack on the wall, the release said. He saw that the firearms were attached to the wall via a cable, whipped out a pocketknife, and attempted to cut the cords, federal authorities said.

That didn’t work so, federal authorities said, Benitez-Ramirez pulled the cable and attachment from the wall, gathered up an armful of firearms, and – with additional guns still attached to the cable dragging behind him – left the store and loaded the guns into a Honda CR-V.

Cash America employees told authorities that when they saw Benitez-Ramirez behind the counter, they asked if he worked there, and he answered that he did. Several employees pressed store panic buttons when they didn’t recognize him.