The property belongs to the owner. The general rule is that “[a] purchaser of goods acquires only that title which the transferor had or had power to transfer.” Paulino v. Computer Renaissance, 62 S.W.3d 648 (Mo. Ct. App. 2001). Because “[a] thief’s title to stolen property is void,” i.e., “is no title at all . . . all subsequent transfers of [stolen] property [are] likewise void.” Id. Thus, when the pawnbroker bought your stolen laptop, he did not become the owner of the property. It doesn’t matter whether the pawnbroker bought the property directly from the thief or from someone else who bought or received the property from the thief. No one downstream from the thief in the chain of possession becomes the owner of the property. It’s still your laptop.

It doesn’t matter whether the pawnbroker acted in good faith. G.S. 25-2-403 is the “good faith purchaser for value” provision of the Uniform Commercial Code, as adopted in North Carolina. It says that a person with a “voidable title” can transfer good title to a bona fide purchaser. But a “voidable” title means a title obtained by a voluntary but fraudulent transfer, like those listed in G.S. 25-2-403(1)(a) – (d), not “title” obtained by outright theft, which is “void.” (The rationale for treating these differently is to encourage owners to be more careful and sniff out fraudulent deals, whereas presumably nothing can be done about theft.) Compare Alsafi Oriental Rugs v. American Loan Co., 864 S.W.2d 41 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1993) (pawnbroker obtained good title to rugs when he was a bona fide purchaser of rugs from a swindler who obtained them through fraud), with In re Two (2) Bose Speakers, Serial No. 121098, 835 P.2d 1385 (Kan. Ct. App. 1992) (pawnbroker did not obtain title to stolen speakers, despite buying them in good faith, because thief had void, rather than voidable, title).

This is North Carolina specific, but seems to be the general rulings I'm finding for US anyway. Not sure on Quebec, I would let the pawn shop owner know they have another chance to give it back before you go to the police and file a report as at that point he is now becoming the thief. Obligatory IANAL. GL!