Hollister police are investigating the owner of a closed gun store who left town with at least one weapon that was on consignment.
Jesse Rodriguez, 34, opened American Armory at 731 San Benito St. in Hollister in January. He closed it on Aug. 1.
On the store’s website, Rodriguez said the store was closing because of financial hardship and lack of sales. Gun pickups and refunds, the post says, could be made by appointment.
A phone number, (209) 270-1234, was listed on the page for people to call or text to get in touch with Rodriguez. When called, there is a message that it is out of service.
At least one gun on consignment at the store was not returned, said Hollister police Sgt. Don Pershall, the department’s public information and training officer. Pershall said the police department received just one complaint of a gun not returned.
“We’re basically trying to get a hold of the owner at this point to determine if any action is appropriate,” Pershall said. “We don’t know what the owner’s intentions are at this point. We don’t know where he is at this point. … If we have any other victims out there, we’d like to know,” he said.
Anyone who left a gun with American Armory, can call the police department at (831) 636-4330.
Rodriguez, who previously owned a gun store in Los Banos, closed it when his lease expired and opened the Hollister store. The store offered gun sales and firearms training classes.
On the store’s web page, customers expressed unhappiness with the shop. There are complaints about unreturned phone calls, a gun that a customer had been waiting for for months and failure of the store to deliver on promises.
On the Facebook page What’s Going On In Hollister, CA., people were surprised about the store closing. They expressed their concerns about it. Posts suggest going to small claims court and calling the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
One person said they bought rifles from American Armory and had no problems.
In a February BenitoLink story about the store, Rodriguez described himself as a 12-year Army veteran who served in Iraq and who had extensive firearms training experience.