Hey Texans, fellow 2A Californian here. I'm new to TGT and admittedly don't have much to contribute here except to share my experience with a thief gunsmith who now lives in Georgetown, TX (he works out of his home, per his FFL info his address is 301 Goldridge Dr Georgetown TX, link to this info is here, FFL EZ check also concurs: https://opengovus.com/firearms-license/5-74-491-01-2B-10374). I'll try to keep the details down to a minimum here but if you'd like to read the story in depth (warning it's long), a link to the thread in Calguns is here: https://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1485903
Back in 2017 I sent my Colt 1911 to a gunsmith in Northern California by the name of Chaz Cheshire, he runs a business called "CC Gunsmithing". Unbeknownst to me the guy had a growing reputation for doing a poor job, having a temper, and getting sued. If you'd like to read another Calguns contributor's nightmare experience with Chaz in 2015, link is here: https://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1119782. There are also many other negative experiences strewn through Yelp, etc... although he has a habit of soliciting family members and friends to bury negative reviews with shill positive reviews.
The project was supposed to have major rework done and the value of the pistol and new parts totaled around $1500 ($2,000 if you include the CA premium). Chaz told me in June 2017 it would take 3 months; he took a $160 deposit (apparently for "parts" though I had already supplied all parts) before work even started. Long story short, he kept delaying the project, citing his ailing parents, "hurting his foot", blaming his welder, etc... and when I pressed him for an update in 2018, he admitted he had barely completed a quarter of the project, done a pretty crappy job at it too, and apparently was in the process of fixing a "mistake" by "a welder he gave the gun to". In February 2018, I demand my gun back but he literally laughs at me, blocks and ghosts me and won't return any communication. I then report it stolen to Redwood City CA PD but they aren't much help. I was told by an officer that Chaz has previous misdemeanors and a history of fleeing from police and not appearing in court, so it's likely he knows just to not open the door. Since PD consider it a civil matter and don't have a warrant, they can't forcibly enter. Turns out that's exactly what happens.
I sue him in small claims court but he still will not return it. A few months after suing him in May 2018 after trying to put a lien on his house and unsuccessfully trying to garnish his wages he sells his California home and moves to Texas. He's apparently unemployed and been so for years, so there are no wages to garnish and although the lien on his house is the correct address, he still lives with his mom and dad and the house is in their name, so they were able to sell the house to bypass the lien. FYI, to date I have not been able to either retrieve the pistol or get compensated so I'm out the entire value. After a full year of trying everything in the book to get my pistol back and with an unbelievable mental burden dealing with this, I resigned to the fact it would be highly unlikely to get it back especially since he lived halfway across the country. I had CA DOJ deregister the gun from my name in case it was used in a crime and basically waved the white flag.
That was back in 2018. I assumed after moving back to Texas, Chaz would find another career. When this was more fresh in 2018, a search of "Chaz Cheshire" or "CC Gunsmithing" on Google would propagate tons of negative experiences and poor reviews. His business pages went quiet and his FFL expired in 2019 which led me to believe he was closing shop for good. And it did look like that was the case until just recently when a friend told me he noticed Chaz promoting his business on FB and Yelp again, alongside what appears to be local newspaper ad. A quick search also turns up a completely new FFL in Texas he obtained in 2019. It seems Chaz has taken advantage of lost interest in the matter and Google pushing back negative results to try and restart his business in Texas. Though I'm no longer as vested as I once was in retrieving the gun I do feel an obligation to warn as many people as possible about Chaz before he destroys another Texan's gun and burdens another Texan with the hellish experience and fatigue I endured trying to get my property back. This guy absolutely needs to be stopped and if there's one positive experience I can make of this, it would be finally shutting CC Gunsmithing down for good.
Details of the pistol are below. Again it's not my priority in getting the gun back but if there's new suggestions as to which TX LEO or agency might be able to help, I still have a sliver of hope left. Note I haven't tried Texas PD or ATF so those are still possible opportunities.
Brand/Type/Action/Cal./Model/Finished - Colt Mark IV Series 80 1911 Semi Auto Pistol 45 ACP
Serial number - A70B38544. The "B" is extremely difficult to see and might be missed and reported as A7038544.
Accessories/Finish/Barrel/Sights/Mag/Value - Extra Kart Barrel, Blued finish, 5" Barrel, OEM Sights + Add on Truglo Sights, numerous others
Thanks all in advance!
Back in 2017 I sent my Colt 1911 to a gunsmith in Northern California by the name of Chaz Cheshire, he runs a business called "CC Gunsmithing". Unbeknownst to me the guy had a growing reputation for doing a poor job, having a temper, and getting sued. If you'd like to read another Calguns contributor's nightmare experience with Chaz in 2015, link is here: https://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1119782. There are also many other negative experiences strewn through Yelp, etc... although he has a habit of soliciting family members and friends to bury negative reviews with shill positive reviews.
The project was supposed to have major rework done and the value of the pistol and new parts totaled around $1500 ($2,000 if you include the CA premium). Chaz told me in June 2017 it would take 3 months; he took a $160 deposit (apparently for "parts" though I had already supplied all parts) before work even started. Long story short, he kept delaying the project, citing his ailing parents, "hurting his foot", blaming his welder, etc... and when I pressed him for an update in 2018, he admitted he had barely completed a quarter of the project, done a pretty crappy job at it too, and apparently was in the process of fixing a "mistake" by "a welder he gave the gun to". In February 2018, I demand my gun back but he literally laughs at me, blocks and ghosts me and won't return any communication. I then report it stolen to Redwood City CA PD but they aren't much help. I was told by an officer that Chaz has previous misdemeanors and a history of fleeing from police and not appearing in court, so it's likely he knows just to not open the door. Since PD consider it a civil matter and don't have a warrant, they can't forcibly enter. Turns out that's exactly what happens.
I sue him in small claims court but he still will not return it. A few months after suing him in May 2018 after trying to put a lien on his house and unsuccessfully trying to garnish his wages he sells his California home and moves to Texas. He's apparently unemployed and been so for years, so there are no wages to garnish and although the lien on his house is the correct address, he still lives with his mom and dad and the house is in their name, so they were able to sell the house to bypass the lien. FYI, to date I have not been able to either retrieve the pistol or get compensated so I'm out the entire value. After a full year of trying everything in the book to get my pistol back and with an unbelievable mental burden dealing with this, I resigned to the fact it would be highly unlikely to get it back especially since he lived halfway across the country. I had CA DOJ deregister the gun from my name in case it was used in a crime and basically waved the white flag.
That was back in 2018. I assumed after moving back to Texas, Chaz would find another career. When this was more fresh in 2018, a search of "Chaz Cheshire" or "CC Gunsmithing" on Google would propagate tons of negative experiences and poor reviews. His business pages went quiet and his FFL expired in 2019 which led me to believe he was closing shop for good. And it did look like that was the case until just recently when a friend told me he noticed Chaz promoting his business on FB and Yelp again, alongside what appears to be local newspaper ad. A quick search also turns up a completely new FFL in Texas he obtained in 2019. It seems Chaz has taken advantage of lost interest in the matter and Google pushing back negative results to try and restart his business in Texas. Though I'm no longer as vested as I once was in retrieving the gun I do feel an obligation to warn as many people as possible about Chaz before he destroys another Texan's gun and burdens another Texan with the hellish experience and fatigue I endured trying to get my property back. This guy absolutely needs to be stopped and if there's one positive experience I can make of this, it would be finally shutting CC Gunsmithing down for good.
Details of the pistol are below. Again it's not my priority in getting the gun back but if there's new suggestions as to which TX LEO or agency might be able to help, I still have a sliver of hope left. Note I haven't tried Texas PD or ATF so those are still possible opportunities.
Brand/Type/Action/Cal./Model/Finished - Colt Mark IV Series 80 1911 Semi Auto Pistol 45 ACP
Serial number - A70B38544. The "B" is extremely difficult to see and might be missed and reported as A7038544.
Accessories/Finish/Barrel/Sights/Mag/Value - Extra Kart Barrel, Blued finish, 5" Barrel, OEM Sights + Add on Truglo Sights, numerous others
Thanks all in advance!
Attachments
Last edited: