Five-O Guns and Pawn opens for business
After more than 30 years in law enforcement, former St. Maries Police Chief Fred Cruzan, a two other former cops, recently opened Five-O Guns and Pawn at 400 Cedar Ave. in Sandpoint. (Photo by RALPH BARTHOLDT)
SANDPOINT — Fred Cruzan knows a few things about stolen property.
And he has an inkling about things that go bang.
The former police chief and Army National Guardsman recently opened Five-O Guns and Pawn to supplement his retirement income and keep busy.
Not that keeping busy is something he needs to practice.
Cruzan, a patrol officer and police chief in St. Maries Idaho for three decades and a sergeant in the Idaho National Guard, spends a weekend a month in military training.
Cruzan who grew up in Osburn, is an avid outdoorsman who likes to spend time with family, as well as with a fishing pole.
The name of his business alludes to his past as a cop.
“Five-O is the radio name for police,” Cruzan said.
As a patrol officer he spent many days visiting pawn shops, collecting pawn slips and perusing merchandise for signs of stolen property.
Despite being on the other end of then counter, Cruzan still carefully checks property that comes through the door — front or back.
Wearing a trademark Hawaiian-style shirt and baseball cap, Cruzan sits in a swivel chair and listens as a man tells him he was robbed.
He has come in looking for some old firearms and elk and deer antlers stolen from his Bonner County residence.
Cruzan tells him to make a list of the stolen merchandise, and that he will be on the look out.
“We get that all the time,” he said.
When Cruzan retired from St. Maries in January, he weighed his options. His wife, Judy, worked in Sandpoint, and was undergoing cancer therapy nearby. Retirement allowed him to move north to be close to his spouse. The couple bought a house in Kootenai and he decided to venture into the pawn and gun business.
“We thought a pawn shop would be fun and provide a good service to the community,” he said.
Five-O Guns and Pawn deals in gold and silver, short-term loans and firearms. Tools, videos, collectibles and sporting goods line the shelves and the coffee is always on, Cruzan said.
“We’re a friendly place to shop,” he said. “Come visit and have a cup of coffee on us.”