Berkeley couple says pawn shop owner sold their stolen jewelry

MARTINSBURG - A Berkeley County couple claims a pawn shop owner sold their jewelry, which he knew was stolen.

Sherman and Napatsorn Houston filed a suit June 5 in Berkeley Circuit Court against Paul Frazier and Frazier's Pawn Shop.

According to the suit, the Houstons' home was broken into and "numerous pieces of valuable jewelry" were stolen. They then went to the police, who went to Frazier's Pawn Shop and instructed the employees to contact the police if any of the jewelry was brought into the shop.

The Houstons claim jewelry was brought into the shop June 11, 2005, and Frazier gave them $500 for the jewelry. According to the suit, Frazier had reason to believe the jewelry was stolen, and he then sold the jewelry and failed to document the sale.

The Houstons claim in the suit that Frazier committed fraud by selling the jewelry. They seek compensatory and punitive damages in an amount greater than $5,000.

Attorney J. Mark Sutton is representing the Houstons. The case has been assigned to Judge Gray Silver.

Berkeley Circuit Court case number 07-C-471