Pawn shop owner nabs 'apologetic' would-be burglar

Nov. 7—The owner of a Decatur pawn shop on Monday tracked an alleged would-be burglar to Hands Across Decatur, where the unusually polite and apologetic man, according to witnesses, was arrested.

"He seems like a real good kid that made a stupid mistake," said the owner of Hands Across Decatur (HAD), Sue Terrell, of the accused man. "He doesn't want to do this for his life."

Blair Hunter Orr, 20, of Decatur, is charged with first-degree theft and attempted burglary. He remained in the Morgan County Jail on Wednesday in lieu of a $6,000 bond.

Decatur police responded to an alarm at Mid City Pawn, at 1029 Sixth Ave. S.E., early Monday to find the front glass door shattered, according to a Decatur police detective's affidavit filed in court on Wednesday.

Orr made incriminating statements linking him to a reported vehicle theft on Oct. 31, according to police, leading to his theft charge. The owner of the vehicle told police the key was left inside, and it was stolen overnight.

Officers reviewed security video from Mid City Pawn that showed a Black man throwing an object at the door before running away.

Bob Lewis, the owner of Mid City Pawn, said his security video showed Orr breaking the glass at around 1:30 a.m. He said Decatur police arrived within seconds.

"As soon as he broke the glass and the alarm went off, he ran," said Lewis. "I guess he didn't think I had an alarm. He had disengaged one of my cameras, pulled the wires loose from it. He had him a mask."

Later that day, Lewis brought a still image from the security video to Hands Across Decatur to try and locate Orr.

"Coincidentally, when Bob came in the building, Blair had asked to speak to me alone in my office," said Terrell. She said Monday was the first time Orr, who had been homeless for about a week, visited HAD. "He said he wanted to change his life and he's done some things he wasn't proud of. I didn't know what they were at the time."

Lewis said he entered Terrell's office and recognized Orr from the security video.

"I extended my hand and said, 'I'm Bob,'" said Lewis. "He said, "Well I'm Blair.' I said, 'You're under arrest.' And he looked at me like he just let the air out of him."

Lewis and Terrell said Orr admitted to breaking the glass and was very "apologetic."

"He was up there talking to Sue trying to get some help, trying to do right," said Lewis. "He said he was just in a bad place right now. I don't think he does any drugs or anything, I think he's just a troubled kid. I know there are a lot of troubled kids out there in the world, especially those that don't have a good home base."

Terrell said Orr understood they had to call the police. Both Terrell and Lewis said Orr kept apologizing and waited patiently for police to arrive.

"I talked to him, you know, I wasn't ugly to him," said Lewis. "I was kind but firm. I told him: 'I'm going to be praying for you. I hope you get yourself straightened out. Because it's up to you. Nobody can do it for you.'"

Lewis said he told Orr that he forgave him but that he would have to be held accountable.

Terrell said Decatur police officer Demetrius Hightower and other responders were kind to Orr.

"Blair walked out peacefully," said Terrell. "He even reached in his pocket and pulled out the mask he wore. It matched the mask that Bob had on video. He gave it to the police officer and said 'you're going to need this for evidence.' I mean, I never saw anything like it before in my life."

Before Lewis arrived at HAD, Terrell said Orr came around and asked how he could help. She said he fixed a cabinet door and helped clean up during the day.

"He knows he did wrong, and I hope he learns from this," said Terrell. "I really do."

Lewis said his business hasn't seen any thefts in a long time. Around a year ago, he said three kids shot out the same glass door with a BB gun and ran away when the alarm went off.

In April, 63 firearms were stolen from another pawn shop in Decatur, Bama Pawn on Beltline Road. Decatur police recovered three of the firearms after a 17-year-old gunshot victim was dumped off at Decatur Morgan Hospital. The teenager, who was a suspect in a March homicide, later died.

The vehicle used to transport the victim was the same vehicle used in the Bama Pawn theft, according to police. Four teenagers and one of the teen's mothers were charged with receiving stolen property.

"We've got high security, we've got cameras," said Lewis. He said the Bama Pawn theft was shocking. "You know, the bigger deterrent you have, the more chance they'll go somewhere else."