NEWPORT, Maine — A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people involved in the burglary and theft of firearms from a Newport pawn shop.
The reward, announced Wednesday by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, is related to the July 1 burglary of The Money Shop, a federal firearms licensee at the Route 2 Mall in Newport.
During the burglary, which occurred about 4 a.m., 22 firearms were stolen. The thefts remain under investigation by special agents assigned to the ATF field office in Portland, along with the Newport Police Department and Maine State Police.
“ATF’s immediate concern is locating the whereabouts of these stolen firearms,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Lawrence J. Panetta. “We are confident that with the public’s assistance, we’ll receive the critical information needed, which will ultimately result in an arrest.”
Anyone with information about the burglary should call the ATF field office in Portland at 780-3324 or the ATF Firearms Theft Hotline at 888-930-9275. Callers also may provide information to the Newport Police Department at 368-3263 or the Maine State Police at 973-3700.