Final Co-Conspirator Sentenced for Role in Gun Store Heist

ROANOKE, Va. – The fifth and final co-conspirator involved in a scheme to break into a Virginia pawnshop and steal firearms was sentenced yesterday to 86 months in prison.

Austin Blake Hixon, 36, of Christiansburg, Virginia, previously pled guilty to possessing stolen firearms and perjury.

Hixon is the final defendant to be sentenced for his role in the scheme.

Previously, Malcom Stanton, Ronald Perry, and Justin Cumbee were each sentenced to 10 years in prison. Michael Hall was sentenced to 27 months.

According to court documents, on November 1, 2022, Perry broke into1st Pawn in Fairlawn, Virginia and stole approximately 15 firearms which he divided up with Stanton & Hall. Several of those guns were later illegally sold or traded for drugs.

Law enforcement tracked three of the stolen firearms to Hixon’s residence.  When interviewed about the whereabouts of the stolen firearms, Hixon said that he threw them in the New River, a claim he testified to under oath. However, Hixon later admitted selling or trading the firearms for methamphetamine. 

Robert N. Tracci, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, and Anthony Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives made the announcement.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Marshals Service, the Radford Police Department, and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case with assistance from the Pulaski County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, the Christiansburg Police Department, the Virginia State Police Search and Recovery Team, and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly McGann and Lee Brett are prosecuting the case.