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Failure to document and report at least 70 stolen guns at county pawn shops led to the firing of a DeKalb County police investigator.

Sylvia H. Woods was fired June 7 from her DeKalb police job as pawn unit supervisor, according to documents released June 25. Woods was notified of her termination for neglect of duty on May 26 in a letter from assistant police chief Dale Holmes.

During an audit of the pawn unit in February, it was discovered that a 12-gauge shotgun pawned at the Candler Road Pawn Shop in July 2006 was stolen four months earlier by a convicted felon, according to the letter.

An investigation determined that Woods failed to document the weapon or notify a detective that it was stolen. Further investigation revealed that about 70 weapons had been placed on hold in DeKalb County pawn shops and had not been documented.

“It was your responsibility to ensure those dispositions of the guns were documented and/or completed,” Holmes wrote. “Your actions were in violation of departmental policy.”

Under police department policy, Woods has the option to file a written appeal of her termination. It was not known at press deadline whether Woods would appeal the firing.