Arraignments set in burglary of pawn shop

SANDPOINT — A trio of Bonner County residents implicated in a break-in at a Ponderay pawn shop are scheduled to be arraigned in 1st District Court on Monday.

Christopher Robin Garlin, Austin Blake Thrasher and Jennifer Stephen Dunnagan are each charged with burglary and grand theft. They waived their rights to a preliminary hearing in magistrate court last month.

The burglary at Pawn Now on Fontaine Drive was discovered on Dec. 27, 2011. More than 30 guns were taken during the crime. Jewelry, currency, computers and video games were also taken, according to the arrest report.

The three suspects are also being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. Federal authorities sought to keep the incident under wraps, but the filing of criminal charges in state court made the case a matter of public record.

Garlin, an 18-year-old from Clark Fork, fell under suspicion after his image was captured by surveillance footage from another business, court documents indicate. During a Jan. 4 traffic stop, jewelry with the pawn shop’s price tags were discovered in the vehicle he was driving. Some of the stolen weapons were also allegedly discovered.

Garlin and Thrasher, 19, of Cocolalla are accused of perpetrating the break-in. Dunnagan, 22, of Sandpoint, allegedly aided and abetted the heist by driving them to the business. Dunnagan told authorities she is Thrasher’s wife.