PANAMA CITY – Panama City Police arrested 24-year-old Daniel Norona and charged him with Bribery of a Law Enforcement Officer and Conspiracy to Commit Burglary, after he offered to pay one of their officers $10,000 to help burglarize an area pawn shop. Norona was an employee of Dan’s pawn shop, which he intended to rob.
Pawn shop owner Avery Adcock said, “Thanks to the Panama City police department and some good detective work, thankfully he did not get a chance to execute what he was planning.”
That being said, it didn’t appear to be a heavy lift for police, nor was much detective work required. According to police, Norona approached a long time friend and offered him the 10K to divert attention of any potential investigation into his planned burglary. It just so happened that the friend was a member of the Panama City police force.
“He was not undercover, he was not in uniform, he was not in a patrol car. They are friends. He knows he is a police officer,” said investigator Sgt. Mike Brewer. The officer’s name was not released but authorities say he followed protocol by informing his superiors of the alleged plot.
Brewer added, “Since I’ve been here, we haven’t had a case like this, where we have charged someone of bribery, so this is an unusual case for us.”
Norona was arrested and taken to the Bay County Jail.
He is no longer an employee of Dan’s pawn shop nor was any information given as to why it’s named Dan’s pawn shop when it’s owned by a guy named Avery.