Prosecutors are already dealing with a former Cabela’s employee, 39-year-old Danielle M. Brookens, who entered a guilty plea in state court in April. She confessed to stealing over a half-million rounds of ammunition from her employer at its Christiana Mall location in Newark and selling her loot to gang members in Philadelphia and Dover.
For a state that prides itself on anti-Second Amendment legislation, Delaware officials offered Brookens what can only be described as a sweetheart deal. It appears she will avoid time behind bars.
The convicted felon will apparently skate by just reporting to a drug diversion program. This came after she faced as much as eight years in state prison, and it could have been worse.
If her case had gone to the U.S. Department of Justice, her time of incarceration could have been a decade. Now she simply awaits a judge signing off on the deal.
Instead, it is her employer and victim who is staring down the barrel of legal trouble. Delaware authorities are going after the company through the controversial Keshall “KeKe” Anderson Safe Firearms Sales Act.
The state DOJ is demanding Cabela’s hand over its policies to prevent loss and other key records. The agency further mandated that the chain and that of its sister store, Bass Pro Shop, turn over documentation for every location within 100 miles of the victimized establishment.
DOJ officials announced in June that they were investigating to determine if Cabela’s violated Delaware’s firearms industry public nuisance law and others. It termed the company’s approach to securing its ammunition stores hands-off and indicated that this led to the location being victimized.
Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings took the company to task for the theft.
“Businesses need to be responsible members of our community; that includes gun dealers taking reasonable steps to prevent gun violence,” she said at the start of the probe. “Unfortunately, Cabela’s casual storage, and their stonewalling of this investigation, tell us that they still aren’t taking that responsibility seriously.”
Jennings noted that “ammo isn’t candy. It shouldn’t be left on a sales floor without a meaningful effort to deter shoplifting.”
Its parent company, the Great American Outdoors Group, filed an objection to the DOJ subpoena. Classifying it as “overbroad,” the company’s attorneys declared the documentation sought includes proprietary information such as trade secrets and other matters.
Also, the state’s public nuisance law pertaining to firearms dealers is under a vigorous challenge from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). The group sued Jennings on the basis that the law “is breathtaking in its scope” and thus unconstitutional.
The law, the NSSF asserted, enables authorities to pursue sweeping legal sanctions against anyone engaged in firearms marketing for liability if their actions are perceived as leading to a “public nuisance.”
In essence, Delaware prosecutors are searching for a reason to punish a legal business because a trusted employee was able to steal merchandise. The DOJ apparently believes that all ammunition should be locked away from customers, and by not doing so Cabela’s created a public nuisance.
Officials want to take a fine-tooth comb to company documents and see if incriminating evidence materializes.
Once again, prosecutors turn a virtual blind eye to criminal infractions and instead target the gun industry. Yes, firearms dealers have a responsibility to reasonably secure their wares, but employees are in a great position to walk out with stolen merchandise.
She was caught and handed a slap on the wrist after admitting to stealing a vast amount of ammunition. Now the state, in a manner typical of anti-gun politicians and prosecutors wants to pursue the victim, the legal firearms dealer.
