in college anytime something was stolen, we would check this pawn shop about 15 minutes away. one time my neighbor got his guitar pedal stolen and sure enough ended up at the pawn shop. the sleeze ball owner didn't want to give it back to him even though it had his name carved in the bottom (smart kid), but after a call to the police, things were resolved easily.
years ago I had a ring that i bought a gf in high school as a "promise ring" and paid about $100 bucks for it. when we broke up she threw it back at me and years later i found while going through some crap. so i took it to a pawn shop in LA and got $150 cash... great investment
