Harford Mall Kiosk Owner Responds after Police Seize Stun Guns

The owner of the Guys Hunting kiosk that was targeted by police at Harford Mall says she was unaware she was prohibited from selling Tasers to mall shoppers since she can sell potentially lethal weapons such as knives. Police confiscated 20 of the Tasers on Friday.

"The police stated that they were 'tipped off' that I was planning on selling Tasers and we had a waiting list to get them," said Debra Guy, who runs the Guys Hunting kiosk in addition to a pawn shop in Havre de Grace. "If the police knew ahead of time, why didn't they just come tell me they were illegal, and I wouldn't have ordered them?"

Guy said she was not aware that it was unlawful to sell Tasers. She said she asked a Harford County sheriff's deputy who told her it was lawful to have them in one's home.

"Given the amount of crime in Harford County, the increase in drugs, home invasions, etc., I thought it an excellent non-lethal form of self-defense," Guy said. "It's crazy that I can sell knives, which someone could potentially use as a lethal weapon, but I can't sell a non-lethal form of self protection."

In the state of Maryland, it is legal to possess and sell Tasers. State law requires stun gun vendors to provide instructions for using the devices, keep sales records, check criminal histories before selling the devices and allow law enforcement agencies to access their records.

Local jurisdictions may have more stringent requirements, and that is the case in Harford County, which passed a bill in 1985 making it illegal to possess, fire, sell or rent a stun gun.

Guy said police investigated whether she was following the state requirements by sending an undercover officer to attempt to buy two Tasers.

"The undercover cop asked me if I would sell him a gun for cash out of my shop without a background check, stating that he had been convicted of assault charges. I told him absolutely not! I told him he was not allowed to ever own a firearm," said Guy, whose store Estate Brokers of Maryland sells guns in Havre de Grace.

"They were baiting me to see if I would commit a crime," Guy said. "I have had a federal firearms license for 30 years, perfect federal records and would never do such a thing."

Guy said that she asked Bel Air police for a record of what the officers were taking when they seized 20 Tasers last week and was denied.

"I asked the Bel Air Police [Department's] Sgt. Lockard for some type of paperwork stating what he was taking from me and he refused to give me anything," Guy said.

According to Guy, Bel Air police officers were accompanied by two deputies from the Harford County Sheriff's Office when they "came in and quietly confiscated" the Tasers on Friday afternoon.

"None of them showed me or my helper a badge or ID, and they wouldn't give me any paperwork stating that they were taken," Guy said.

The Bel Air Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As of Dec. 23, charges had not been filed against Guy, according to online court records.

Related: Bel Air Police to 'Guys Hunting': You Can't Sell Stun Guns at the Mall