Man, two juveniles accused of stealing guns from Cape pawn shop

A 22-year-old Cape Girardeau man and two juvenile accomplices broke a pawn-shop window with a hammer during the early-morning hours Tuesday and took five long guns from the store that were on display, police said.

Cape Girardeau police arrested Henry Lamont Hawkins and the two juveniles Tuesday, and the Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Hawkins with first-degree burglary and felony theft.

Hawkins’ bond was set at $20,000 cash or surety.

Officers responded to the scene in the 300 block of Kingshighway about 3 a.m. Tuesday and observed the broken window at the shop and a green-and-black zip carry bag lying on top of the same broken glass, according to a probable-cause statement filed by officer Josh Gregory.

Security footage obtained from the owner showed one juvenile with a hammer and backpack wearing a red hoodie and a red covering over his face, Hawkins wearing dark clothing and light-colored gloves and the other juvenile wearing white shoes, a backpack and carrying a blue bag, Gregory wrote.

The three suspects went behind the register and took five long guns out of the store, according to the statement.

Officer Gabe Yoder said he found the three suspects sitting in a white passenger car near the intersection of Clark Avenue and Themis Street, Gregory wrote.

Inside the car were two bags of dark clothing and a claw hammer matching the one in the security footage, according to the statement.

Officers found four long guns taken from the pawn shop lying in trees close to where the vehicle was parked, Gregory wrote.

Hawkins had white-colored gloves in his rear pocket, and he told officers he was a tattoo artist and had used the gloves on a tattoo earlier that day, Gregory wrote.

Each of the suspects was sweating profusely, and Hawkins said he had been play fighting with his cousins, according to the statement.

Hawkins talked to officers at police headquarters after he was read his Miranda rights, Gregory wrote. Hawkins said he tried to talk his cousins out of committing a burglary earlier that day, and he only offered to give his cousins a ride after they returned to a residence on Clark Avenue, breathing heavily and sweating, according to the statement.

In his recounting, Hawkins did not have an answer for the reason he was sweating, Gregory wrote.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

300 block of Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.