NEWARK — A U.S. district judge has stopped an attempt by the Christiana Cabela’s to move a case regarding ammunition stolen from the store to a federal court.

The case will now be heard in Delaware Superior Court on an undetermined date.

According to the office of Attorney General Kathy Jennings, Superior Court was asked last summer to enforce a subpoena against the sporting goods store regarding over 500,000 rounds of ammunition shoplifted in under a year. The agency believes a large amount of it was sold to violent criminals and drug dealers in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

The attorney general claims the merchandise was unsecured in the middle of the sales floor and that no effort to stop its theft was made.

Cabela’s attempt to remove the case came after employees moved the ammunition behind the store’s counter and failed to adequately answer questions posed by the state, according to officials.

But Judge Richard G. Andrews of Delaware’s U.S. District Court put the block to rest by remanding the case to Superior Court under the belief that Cabela’s and other respondents “do not describe any issue of federal law (that the) Plaintiff must win to prove any element necessary to the enforcement of the subpoena.”

“It should have been obvious that the (Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act) does not apply to this case as there is no qualified civil liability action,” wrote Judge Andrews. “It is clear the Fourth Amendment argument would be a federal defense and not the basis of federal jurisdiction. There was no basis to remove the case.”

The judge also awarded the state legal fees.

“I’m grateful to the court for its ruling and glad that Cabela’s legal games continue to be unsuccessful,” said Ms. Jennings. “Almost a year into this investigation, Cabela’s is still evading basic questions and trying to hide the truth. Every round of ammunition that walked out of that store is capable of ending a life, and Cabela’s apparently casual attitude about that fact raises serious questions about just how pervasive their issues were.

“Gun dealers need to take reasonable steps to prevent gun violence — we are still waiting for evidence that Cabela’s did. We’re looking forward to stating our case in Superior Court.”

According to a recent Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives report, Newark is the leading source for crime-used guns in the state.