Whatcom man allegedly tries to illegally buy back his gun from pawnshop
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office’s Detective Division arrested a man suspected of attempting to illegally buy back a firearm he had previously pawned.
Brandon Kieth Pickett, 45, was booked into Whatcom County Jail on Tuesday on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm and second-degree attempted possession of a firearm.
The case was referred to the Sheriff’s Office by the Bellingham Police and the FBI, according to information provided by Chief Deputy Kevin Hester in an email Thursday to The Bellingham Herald.
According to Hester, Pickett pawned a firearm in July, but was later arrested by the Bellingham Police on a domestic violence charge. He also had a no-contact order that prohibited him from possessing firearms, Hester said.
When he attempted to pay off the pawn, he had to complete paperwork to confirm he was eligible to possess the firearm, and Hester said Pickett provided false information. Video reportedly showed him handling the firearm and filling out the paperwork.
Detectives attempted to get Pickett to return to the pawnshop to make an arrest, but those plans did not work, Hester said, so they arrested him without incident at his residence.
According to court documents, Pickett was scheduled to be arraigned Friday on second-degree malicious mischief stemming from a Jan. 1 incident out of Bellingham, in which he allegedly caused $1,000 worth of damage to a woman’s car by pouring transmission fluid and antifreeze on the car and in its gas tank.
This story was originally published January 19, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
