Deputy's widow sues pawn shop who sold gun to husband's killer

By Vince Mancini

Published on October 17, 2005

Patricia Tucker, whose lawsuit is receiving assistance from the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, accuse the pawn shop of negligence. The Brady Center has filed five similar cases this year.

The suit, filed in Wake County Superior Court, claims that Cary Jewelry & Paw was negligent when it sold a shotgun to a man with a mental illness who later transferred the weapon to convicted felon Matthew Grant.

In November, Grant was convicted of first-degree murder of Deputy Mark Reid Tucker, 49, who was shot in a Raleigh field in February 2004.

Paul Pardue, owner of the pawn shop, denied any wrongdoing. He said the buyer filled out a form in which he denied having a history of mental illness or a criminal record, and that he was the true purchaser.

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