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Unchanged swap shop legislation up for debate

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By Ryan Gauthier, Staff Writer 8:37 PM Monday, December 14, 2009

MIDDLETOWN — The wording of an ordinance regulating swap shop and second-hand store operations has yet to undergo changes suggested weeks ago, but will still appear before City Council when it convenes tonight, Dec. 15.

Councilwoman Anita Scott Jones proposed the alterations at a Dec. 1 meeting, saying she did not think true owners should have to pay to recover their stolen property.

“I believe the swap shop owners should be the ones to pursue restitution, not the victim,” Scott Jones said. “I did some research on other cities and other city councils and found some sample language that favors the original owner of the property.”

The language Scott Jones is hoping to insert into the ordinance would require all related sentences to include restitution regardless of the defendant’s ability to pay and would place the burden of seeking that restitution on the shop owner who purchased the stolen merchandise.

Les Landen, Middletown’s law director, said he still has some concerns regarding how much “jurisdiction the city has over court matters.” He and Scott Jones initially locked horns over the wording of the ordinance, which puts the onus on the original property owner to compensate the store for the item.

“We really have two innocent parties here,” Landen said. “The person whose property was stolen and the person who took it in good faith without knowing it was stolen.”

That’s assuming the swap shop owner took “reasonable steps” to ensure the property was not stolen, Landen said. Given a situation where neither party is “guilty,” he said it might be best to let the two owners work it out themselves.

“My tendency is to think that between those two parties they should seek our remedies against each other,” he said.

Landen still was not sure what alterations would be made to the ordinance as of Monday afternoon, but said he might bring three or four different options forward and let council make the final decision.

Also up for consideration is emergency legislation recommending the purchase of eight police cruisers from Statewide Lincoln Ford Mercury in VanWert, Ohio, for a total amount of $176,700. The city will use money from its municipal garage fund to cover the purchase, which includes a 5-percent reduction for early payment.

Middletown City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers on the lower level of the Middletown City Building, One Donham Plaza.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2871 or rgauthier@coxohio.com.

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If the swap shops do not have to be careful what they buy, they will not care. If they might lose something, they will be more careful. Naturally our city fathers and Les Landen can not figure that out.

By George
10:21 AM, 12/15/2009

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what happend to the law> if you recieve stolen property you are just out your money, if you buy stolen property and get cought with it the police take it and give it back to the rightful owners and you lose out, whats so hard to understanding that?

ken
9:29 AM, 12/15/2009

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I have sold several things downtown and they ask for my drivers license every time. A copy of drivers license or a photo taken of the person might help in tracking the person.

joe
8:27 AM, 12/15/2009

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The ID and maybe a picture of the person bringing items to the shops should be checked, then they would have to tell where they got the items if they were stolen.

kent selby
7:37 AM, 12/15/2009

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Typical hesitation by city council. Take many meetings and a great deal of time to decide what to do with a 15 minute piece of legislation. No one can make a decision on this council and when they finally do, they make the wrong choice. Look at how long it took them to get their act together on this disasterous Section 8 program that is ruining this city.Council didn't know anything about it for years,then,conveniently found it,for fed revenue dollars.The city leaders are too incompetent to lead

What A City!
6:31 AM, 12/15/2009

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