Walmart Recovers 6 Stolen TV's In Pawn Shop Raid

CHEVERLY, Md. (WUSA) -- Prince George's County police launched a crackdown on pawn shops and second-hand merchandise dealers suspected of selling stolen items with a raid on the Maryland Computer Exchange on Landover Road Tuesday.

Shortly after police served a search warrant looking for allegedly stolen goods, a manager from a nearby Walmart arrived to identify 6 HD televisions that disappeared from the store between June 24 and June 28. The Walmart worker identified the televisions using bar codes on the unopened packages.

The TV's were taken by shoplifters fleeing through fire doors in a series of back-to-back thefts from the store, police said.

"If you're accepting stolen merchandise, stop it," warned Maj. Andrew Ellis of the Prince George's County Police. "If you can't do that, we're going to come in and take your merchandise and shut your doors for you."

A lawyer for Maryland Computer Exchange's owner says the business complies with all regulations governing pawn shops and second-hand stores. The business checks the ID's of all people selling merchandise, reports the items to the police department, and hold items for at least 30 days before re-selling them, said attorney Ron Schwartz.

Schwartz called the raid a "publicity stunt". No charges were filed against business owner James D. Burrough III Tuesday.

During the search of the Maryland Computer Exchange, police seized hundreds of items, such as vacuum cleaners, chain saws and tools. Many were in unopened, original packaging.

Many also had inventory stickers from the Maryland Computer Exchange indicating the items had been recorded and reported to police as required by regulation, according to Schwartz.