INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Chumlee Arrest Update: Woman Behind Sexual Assault Claim Identified As Pawn Shop Employee [Report]

By Effie Orfanides
Published on: 02:57 PST, Mar 28, 2016

Chumlee of Pawn Stars fame is awaiting his May 23 court date when he will face 20 felony charges related to drugs and weapons. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the reality star and pawn shop appraiser was taken into custody during a search of his Las Vegas-area home.

Police obtained a search warrant after a previously unidentified woman claimed that she had been sexually assaulted by Chumlee. Once inside the home, police found various items from unregistered handguns to illegal drugs. Based on their findings, cops arrested Chumlee, booking him on charges completely unrelated to the sexual assault case, according to the Associated Press.

“Police said 12 guns were seized, ranging from handguns to a shotgun and assault-style MP5 and.223-caliber rifles. Four of the handguns were registered to Russell, the report said. Most of the weapons were found in a bedroom vault safe, along with 17 multi-dose ‘bars’ of the anxiety drug Xanax and seven capsules containing small amounts of methamphetamine, police said. One loaded.45-caliber handgun was found in a master bedroom nightstand drawer, the report said.”

Chumlee has not released a public statement of any kind, nor has he posted anything on social media since being released from jail on $62,000 bail. There have been few details released since his March 9 arrest, but one new piece of information has hit the internet this week.

According to the Morning Ledger, the woman who made the sexual assault claims against Chumlee has been identified. The report indicates that the woman actually works with Chumlee at the Gold and Silver Pawn shop. Her name has not been released, and it is unknown if she has ever been on Pawn Stars or if fans of the show would recognize her or know who she is. This information suggests that the alleged sexual assault happened at work — at Rick Harrison’s shop. That means that there could be surveillance footage and/or witnesses to back up the claims — or to disprove them. This could either help Chumlee, or hurt him.

Chumlee (real name Austin Lee Russell) has not been charged in the sexual assault case, but police reportedly took clothing and other items out of his home for testing and analysis.

Since his arrest, Chumlee has hired attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld. The two men say that they are looking forward to resolving this case.

“We will be analyzing what was allegedly found and whether the alleged seizure was lawful,” they said in an email.

At this time, many fans of Pawn Stars are wondering what will become of Chumlee and what will happen with the popular show. The History Channel has declined to comment on the Chumlee situation, and there has not been any mention of if/when filming for the show will resume. It has been previously reported, however, that cameras were not filming Chumlee’s arrest. Any fans hoping to see that kind of footage are simply out of luck.

The only person to speak out publicly about Chumlee’s arrest is Rick Harrison.

“We don’t have details yet, but we are here to help Chumlee any way we can,” Harrison told Fox News earlier this month.

Chumlee could be in much deeper trouble than what people realize at this point. The police report did indicate that Chumlee was storing drugs the way in which a drug dealer would, which makes it sound like the reality star had something else going on the side. If Chumlee is found guilty of these charges (any or all of them), he could find himself behind bars. If he’s charged with sexual assault, that’s even more potential jail time.

[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]

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