Gun dealer under investigation for lax prevention of shoplifted ammo

Attorney General Kathy Jennings, through her Office of Impact Litigation, has asked the Superior Court to enforce a subpoena against Cabela’s, Inc. (“Cabela’s”) seeking answers about a half-million rounds of ammunition that were shoplifted from its Christiana location.  After more than three months, Cabela’s has failed to substantively respond to the subpoena.

The DOJ is investigating whether Cabela’s has violated various laws, including Delaware’s firearms industry public nuisance law, through its hands-off approach to the shoplifting of ammunition from its Christiana location. The investigation began over reports that substantial amounts of ammunition were being stolen from Cabela’s, which at the time stored ammunition unsecured in the middle of the sales floor and made no apparent effort to stop massive shoplifting. After the DOJ sent Cabela’s a subpoena, the company relocated ammunition in the Christiana store to behind a sales counter.

“In the wrong hands, a single round of ammunition can take a life — but Cabela’s watched a half-million rounds walk out the door,” said AG Jennings. “Ammo isn’t candy. It shouldn’t be left on a sales floor without a meaningful effort to deter shoplifting.  Our team has already gotten results and led Cabela’s to store its ammunition more safely, but our investigation isn’t over. Businesses need to be responsible members of our community; that includes gun dealers taking reasonable steps to prevent gun violence. Unfortunately, Cabela’s casual storage, and their stonewalling of this investigation, tell us that they still aren’t taking that responsibility seriously. We’re asking the Court to step in so that we can ensure our neighbors are being kept safe.”

Investigators believe that at least 500,000 rounds of ammunition were stolen from Cabela’s in less than a year — and that a substantial portion of it was sold to drug dealers and other criminals in Delaware and Pennsylvania. Thus far, Cabela’s has failed to promptly or meaningfully respond to the State’s subpoena.

DOJ’s investigation explores potential violations of several laws, including but not limited to the Keshall “KeKe” Anderson Safe Firearms Sales Act. The act, passed into law in 2022, is named for KeKe Anderson, an innocent bystander who was killed in a 2016 shooting involving a firearm bought through a straw purchase at Cabela’s. The bill repeals special immunity granted to gun dealers like Cabela’s under state law, making Delaware the first state in the country to repeal a gun industry liability shield.

The Office of Impact Litigation, created by AG Jennings in 2019, is part of the DOJ’s Fraud and Consumer Protection Division and directs or participates in a number high-profile legal battles, including the DOJ’s lawsuits against Big Pharma and Big Oil, efforts to stop the City of Seaford from enacting an anti-choice ordinance, and a number of multistate matters.

This case is being overseen by Owen Lefkon, Director of the DOJ’s Fraud and Consumer Protection Division, and Christian Douglas Wright, Director of the DOJ’s Office of Impact Litigation. The subpoena enforcement litigation is being led by Deputy Attorney General Lyn Brantley with assistance from Paralegal Michele Porter.  The investigation is being led by DOJ Investigator Pat Malone.

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