A South Florida woman had her belongings stolen from a storage unit. BSO detectives tracked down her things to a local pawn shop, but when she tried to get them back, she was told to pay up. 7’s Brandon Beyer investigates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly DeSocio is a collector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly DeSocio: “I like to collect dolls, you know, I’ve been into Barbie dolls for a long time.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She has a huge collection, and each piece brings her joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly DeSocio: “It’s the memory of where we were when we got it, you know, what it was like to get that particular, you know, doll or toy, the collectible.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly can’t keep her entire collection at home, so she rents out a storage unit in Dania Beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She’s had the unit for more than a decade and never had a problem. Until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On July 30, Kimberly says someone broke into her storage unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly DeSocio: “It looked like somebody just threw a bomb in there.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She filed a police report, and a day later Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested Michael Shutov. He’s charged with burglary and theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deputies say they found some of Kimberly’s belongings at a different storage unit Shutov was renting in Davie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lot more was missing, including a set of dolls with sentimental value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly DeSocio: “These two Willy Wonka dolls. As crazy as it sounds, you know, they’re like 18 inches, but they’re really cool. And I was furious, furious over two dolls, two dolls that are more sentimental to me than monetary.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BSO detectives found the dolls at 2 J’s Pawn & Gun in Davie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly came to pick up her property, but left empty-handed. She claims she was told she’d need to pay to get her property back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly DeSocio: “And then the guy tells me ‘OK, that will be $75.’ And I’m like, ‘$75?’ I said, ‘It’s my stolen property,’ and I said, ‘I’m not paying, you have stolen property. You want to sell me my stolen property back?'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7News went to 2 J’s Pawn & Gun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7News employee: “Hi, we’re with Channel 7.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An employee said there was no manager or owner to speak with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pawn shop employee: “They’re not available right now.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7News employee: “Can I leave my card?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly sent 2 J’s Pawn & Gun a letter where she threatened to file a lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She says that’s when the pawn shop finally handed over the dolls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly DeSocio: “It’s all about principle, you know, and what’s right and wrong.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Florida law does not require people to pay to get their stolen property back from pawn shops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly DeSocio: “I’m not paying to buy my stolen property back. I said, ‘That’s insane!'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly finally has her dolls, but the case isn’t over. A lot of her things are still missing, and they may be gone for good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly DeSocio: “I’ve been very, very lucky. Most people never recover their stuff back.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimberly hopes she’s lucky enough to find the rest of her collection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brandon Beyer, 7News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The owner of 2 J’s Pawn & Gun called 7News Tuesday afternoon and claimed that having people buy back their stolen property has been a common practice among pawn shops for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:<\/strong>
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"