A St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office detention deputy has been accused of pawning his agency-issued gun.
The sheriff's office said it made the discovery when Michael Hocker, who works at the St. Lucie County Jail, submitted his resignation last week.
“In submitting his agency-owned equipment, it was determined that Hocker had pawned his agency-provided firearm, claiming it was his own,” Sheriff Ken J. Mascara said in a statement. “Once this information was known, I immediately approved a criminal investigation into the events surrounding this gun being pawned.”
The sheriff's office has charged the 50-year-old Hocker with grand theft of a firearm, giving false information to a pawnbroker and dealing in stolen property.
The department has recovered the weapon.
Hocker was arrested in Indian River County and booked into the Indian River County Jail. He is currently on unpaid administrative leave.
