There is a misunderstanding that a lot of stolen property ends up in Pawn shops. The fact is that stolen property in pawn shops is less than 2% of all the transactions made.

To make a loan or sell an item to a Pawn shop in California you have to sign a document stating you own the property and it has no liens against it. You do this under penalty of perjury. 

In addition, selling or pawning a stolen item to a State Licensed Pawn Broker, you will also be
charged with defrauding a Prawn Broker (penal code 484.1) which depending on the amount is a very serious charge. 

Every item that is loaned on or purchased by Santa Cruz Pawn is reported to the Santa Cruz Police Department along with the persons Drivers License information,thumb print and a description of the items. A digital video is also made of every transaction.

If you have had some items stolen you should make a police report. There are privacy laws that do not allow us to give out any customer information regarding transactions.

You may fax us a copy of the police report (831/469-8458) and we will review it and if 
there is a match of any item we have loaned on or purchased, we will contact the police department.

We also suggest you check flea markets and 2nd hand buy/sells stores that don't report their transactions to the police departments.

Craigslist is also another area to pursue. Search that site's for sale section for a description of your property. 

We are very sorry for your loss.