Georgia gun store owners deny they sold weapons illegally

<p>The owners of two Georgia gun stores accused in a lawsuit by New York City officials of selling firearms illegally denied Monday that they did anything wrong.</p><p>A-1 Jewelry and Pawn Inc. in Augusta and AAA Pawnbrokers in Hephizbah are among five gun shops in Georgia that are named in the lawsuit, which also targets shops in Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia.</p><p>New York officials claim the shops supply guns that flow into the city, including some that end up in the hands of criminals.</p><p>The suit being filed Monday asks the federal court to order supervision and extra training for the dealers. It also seeks some damages and compensation.</p><p>Earl Driggers, the owner of A-1 Jewelry and Pawn, said his store has cooperated with authorities in a sting operation in the past, but was not a target of the probe. He believes he has always complied with the law. He said that once someone passes a background check and is sold a gun, it's impossible for gun stores to control who the buyer gives that gun to.</p><p>"We certainly do everything we can to make sure guns don't leave our store illegally," Driggers said. "I don't know what you're supposed to do. If a guy comes in and meets all the criteria and you comply with the law, I don't know what you do."</p><p>His son, Greg Driggers, is owner of AAA Pawnbrokers. The younger Driggers said he, too, was baffled why his store was named in the lawsuit.</p><p>"We're not selling guns illegally," the younger Driggers said. He added, "If they wound up in the hands of criminals, that's because people are doing things illegal, but it's not on the part of us. At any time, anybody, any authority is welcome to come in and check my records."</p><p>Officials at Big Toms Pawn Shop in Savannah and Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna, which were also named in the lawsuit, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday. A man who answered the phone at The Gun Store Inc. in Doraville, the fifth Georgia shop named in the lawsuit, declined to comment and hung up when asked to speak about the lawsuit.</p><p>"If a lawsuit was filed, I'll get it in the mail," said the man, who refused to give his name. "I don't need to know anything about that."</p><p>New York City's law department singled out 15 gun shops in the five states after hiring private investigators who fanned out to dealers over the past several weeks.</p><p>Wearing hidden cameras, the investigators entered stores in teams of two and attempted "straw purchases," in which the buyer completes the paperwork and passes the background check, but hands over the weapon to someone else who is not allowed to own a firearm.</p><p>The scam, prohibited by federal law, is typically used by people who are under 21 or convicted felons. The 15 dealers named in the suit sold guns to the undercover investigators. The city said the sales were refused at about 30 other shops.</p><p>In addition to filing the lawsuit, the city is turning over its findings to authorities in the dealers' districts, as well as the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.</p><p>New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said authorities already have much of the information at their fingertips, and he accused the federal government of being "asleep at the switch," saying part of the problem is that it isn't pursuing "rogue" gun dealers.</p><p>The Department of Justice did not return repeated telephone calls for comment.</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/5/123919