A Christiansburg man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for his involvement in a 2022 gun store burglary in Fairlawn, Virginia. Austin Blake Hixon, 36, received an 86-month sentence after pleading guilty to possessing stolen firearms and perjury.
Hixon is the last of five defendants to be sentenced for participating in the break-in at 1st Pawn on November 1, 2022. Three other men—Malcom Stanton, Ronald Perry, and Justin Cumbee—were each sentenced to ten years in prison. Michael Hall received a sentence of 27 months.
Court documents indicate that Ronald Perry broke into the pawnshop and stole about 15 firearms. The stolen guns were then divided among Stanton and Hall. Some of these weapons were later sold or traded for drugs.
Authorities located three of the stolen firearms at Hixon’s home. When questioned by law enforcement about their whereabouts, Hixon claimed he had thrown them into the New River and repeated this statement under oath. He later admitted to selling or trading the firearms for methamphetamine.
“Robert N. Tracci, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, and Anthony Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives made the announcement.”
The investigation was led by multiple agencies including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; United States Marshals Service; Radford Police Department; Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office; with assistance from Pulaski County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office; Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office; Christiansburg Police Department; Virginia State Police Search and Recovery Team; and Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
“Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly McGann and Lee Brett are prosecuting the case.”
