7,000 Stolen Guns In One Place

This guy is a hoarder not a fence. A fence buys stolen goods to sell, not warehouse them, especially 7,000 firearms. People hoard animals, newspapers, old cars and just plain junk. A former co-worker hoarded clothes, most she had never worn with the price tag still on them. Her apartment was filled with stacks of clothes with paths between them to be able to get into the other rooms.

I tend to go along with the hoarder theory as well if only because if he was a fence, he was pretty bad at it given his enormous back-log of inventory. You would think the last thing a fence would want to be found in possession of would be all that stolen merchandise. And how was he going to get rid of all those guns: have one mighty gigantic garage sale? I could just imagine his ad in the local newspaper: "Everything must go sale! No reasonable offer refused. Open to the public except local law enforcement, BATFE, Homeland Security, and the FBI."

One of the posts in the comments section made me laugh out loud. I guess after looking a picture of the accused, their comment read: Where was he hiding the fatback and biscuits?

The best part of the article for me were the quotes from Mr. Rusty Fender. LOL!

usmarine0352_2005 said:

Says he used drugs, perhaps he was a fence who was also a stoner so he was too lazy to sell his ill-gotten gains.

Click to expand...

Maybe he forgot he had them...?

It looks like most of those still have serial numbers. Hopefully many of the rightful owners of those guns took the time to record the model and serial numbers, and filed police reports.... if so, it will feel like Christmas when they get the call from law enforcement.

MachIVshooter said:

Probably a Century Arms warehouse

Click to expand...

LOL

He has/Had a liquor store.
I'm guessing he started acting like a pawn shop, taking in guns for booze then realized these folks weren't coming back to get their stuff and figured, What the heck & just kept going.

It would be interesting to know just how he came into possesion of that many guns, but I would NOT just assume he stole them. There are scatterings of people who are hoarders of a variety of items and that includes firearms. Ive know at least a couple myself that have or had 100's of guns so maybe like the Winchester heir who kept adding onto her house many rooms beyond her needs, if you have the funds and like guns a person could certainly buy that many over a course of time.

I think what's needed here is facts.

Stealing 7000 guns without getting caught would be a real feat in itself. And why would anyone steal that many without selling ?

joem1945 said:

The news interviewed a guy named "Rusty Fender". Where else would you find a guy with a name like that but NC. Sorry NC, no offence made.

Click to expand...

don't be naïve.

"Rusty Fender" is a pseudonym. I have seen interviews with 'Rusty' and a few of his friends: 'Roger Herhard', 'Mike Hunt', 'Clint Taurus' (or 'Clint Orris') 'Jack Eulaton' and 'Don Keedic' in the local papers or local news @ 6:00...

The reporters really never think about it much, too interested in "getting the story" to actually pronounce the name the guy gives them, usually by spelling the last name, slowly so they get it right...

Nicholson and his father ran a liquor store in Pageland, but according to Brooks it's been on his radar for a long time in connection to cases of stolen property.

Click to expand...

Nice work Sheriff, nothing gets past you.

"I don't understand why he done the things he done, but I'm glad it's off the streets."

Click to expand...

Looks to me at though there were already off the streets.

Really?

The authorities ran all SEVEN THOUSAND plus numbers and found they are all stolen?

P5 Guy said:

The authorities ran all SEVEN THOUSAND plus numbers and found they are all stolen?

Click to expand...

I too do not think this reporting is accurate.

I'm with the crowd that does not believe that HE stole them or knew they were stolen. As others have said, he may have traded booze for them over the years..... a cheap rifle for a bottle of whatever or acted like a cheap pawn shop for the locals. He may have been hoarding them because he got them so easily and cheap and had no need for them but didn't want to sell them off. I seriously doubt that many, if any, were actually stolen property.

I heard on the radio it was a father and son who ran a liquor store and were suspected of being a fence for stolen goods. Sounds like they were really good at one half of the process

Mike

It was in SC, not NC. (#20) The guy was a drug dealer who bought stolen guns from B&Es and car thefts, whatever. Also other stolen items for cash he got from selling drugs. Why he didn't sell them no one knows but the ATF, Sheriff and other LE agencies are running down serial numbers and returning them to their owners.

Uh oh, summon stumbled into an ATF gun running scheme (again...)

TCB