Customers Upset after Monroe Pawn Shop Closes

MONROE, Mich. (WJBK) -- A Monroe pawn shop closed its doors after the owner claimed he was robbed. Now, some customers are upset and they want their pawned merchandise back.

A woman in a tough situation pawned her most prized possession, but when she came to get it back, the doors were locked and her jewelry gone.

"Here was this big diamond engagement ring, and … as old as he is, he went on one knee and handed me the roses and popped that box open and said, 'Sweetheart, would you marry me?'" explained Teresa Coulter.

She can't help but cry when she thinks of how her husband proposed. Her wedding made Monroe County news. Her beautiful wedding bands never left her finger until she pawned them to help a family member in financial trouble.

She made double payments hoping to get them back as soon as possible.

"They took my money like they still had my jewelry," Coulter said.

The problem is Global Pawn in Monroe was robbed several weeks before, according to a police report. Now, no one can find the owner.

"Might of broke in the place himself and made it make believe because the way they came in through a back warehouse and came all the way through all these different buildings to find their way in here, you wouldn't know that in the dark," said landlord Dan Uvich.

He owns the building where Global Pawn opened up. Uvich said the store owner, Jeff Perkins, closed the store in the middle of the night.

"I've called at least two times a week. It says the number is no longer in service," said Gordon Banbury.

He pawned his first guitar to make a mortgage payment on his house.

"That guitar's been with me since I was 17 years old. That's my first guitar, a Fender Stratocaster," he said. "Jeff, I want my number one Fender Stratocaster back. We've always been on good terms, and I'd like to stay on good terms with you."

"Do the people right that have been your loyal customers."

"Jeff Perkins from Global Pawn … you know me. You made me a promise nothing would ever happen to my rings. I want my rings back," said Coulter.

A detective investigating the case explained that right now it looks like an actual robbery and no foul play is suspected. That detective also said the owner is not being investigated for fraud and currently there are no suspects.