South Florida collector’s dolls stolen and pawned; pawn shop tries to get her to pay for them – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports
(WSVN) – A South Florida woman had her belongings stolen from a storage unit. BSO detectives tracked down her things to a local pawn shop, but when she tried to get them back, she was told to pay up. 7’s Brandon Beyer investigates.
Kimberly DeSocio is a collector.
Kimberly DeSocio: “I like to collect dolls, you know, I’ve been into Barbie dolls for a long time.”
She has a huge collection, and each piece brings her joy.
Kimberly DeSocio: “It’s the memory of where we were when we got it, you know, what it was like to get that particular, you know, doll or toy, the collectible.”
Kimberly can’t keep her entire collection at home, so she rents out a storage unit in Dania Beach.
She’s had the unit for more than a decade and never had a problem. Until now.
On July 30, Kimberly says someone broke into her storage unit.
Kimberly DeSocio: “It looked like somebody just threw a bomb in there.”
She filed a police report, and a day later Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested Michael Shutov. He’s charged with burglary and theft.
Deputies say they found some of Kimberly’s belongings at a different storage unit Shutov was renting in Davie.
A lot more was missing, including a set of dolls with sentimental value.
Kimberly DeSocio: “These two Willy Wonka dolls. As crazy as it sounds, you know, they’re like 18 inches, but they’re really cool. And I was furious, furious over two dolls, two dolls that are more sentimental to me than monetary.”
BSO detectives found the dolls at 2 J’s Pawn & Gun in Davie.
Kimberly came to pick up her property, but left empty-handed. She claims she was told she’d need to pay to get her property back.
Kimberly DeSocio: “And then the guy tells me ‘OK, that will be $75.’ And I’m like, ‘$75?’ I said, ‘It’s my stolen property,’ and I said, ‘I’m not paying, you have stolen property. You want to sell me my stolen property back?’”
7News went to 2 J’s Pawn & Gun.
7News employee: “Hi, we’re with Channel 7.”
An employee said there was no manager or owner to speak with us.
Pawn shop employee: “They’re not available right now.”
7News employee: “Can I leave my card?”
Kimberly sent 2 J’s Pawn & Gun a letter where she threatened to file a lawsuit.
She says that’s when the pawn shop finally handed over the dolls.
Kimberly DeSocio: “It’s all about principle, you know, and what’s right and wrong.”
Florida law does not require people to pay to get their stolen property back from pawn shops.
Kimberly DeSocio: “I’m not paying to buy my stolen property back. I said, ‘That’s insane!’”
Kimberly finally has her dolls, but the case isn’t over. A lot of her things are still missing, and they may be gone for good.
Kimberly DeSocio: “I’ve been very, very lucky. Most people never recover their stuff back.”
Kimberly hopes she’s lucky enough to find the rest of her collection.
Brandon Beyer, 7News.
The owner of 2 J’s Pawn & Gun called 7News Tuesday afternoon and claimed that having people buy back their stolen property has been a common practice among pawn shops for years.
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