Headlines

Jeweler Charged With Precious Metals Violations

Published

6 years ago

November 9, 2017

INSTORE Staff

His permit expired in 2015.

A jeweler in Columbia, SC, has been charged with purchasing jewelry without a precious metals permit, police said.

Gregory Wayne Gibson, 59, owner of Gibson Jewelers Inc., is accused of buying more than $149,000 worth of jewelry, including “gold, silver, precious metals and stones,” from a suspect in September 2017. Gibson’s precious metals permit, allowing him to purchase such items, expired in September 2015, authorities say.

He’s charged with 15 counts of “precious metals, violations by dealer – first offense.”

Investigators determined that the merchandise was stolen during several home burglaries in the Lake Katherine and Old Woodlands area in mid-August to early September 2017, the Columbia Police Department said in a press release. As a result, William Curtis Young, 40, was charged with seven counts of burglary-first, five counts of receiving stolen Ggoods, and grand larceny.

“At this time, Investigators are working to determine if Gibson knew the merchandise was stolen when he purchased the items,” the release stated.

Most of the stolen items have been recovered by the Columbia Police Department, police said.

Gibson and Young were booked at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia.

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