Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunrise Point
Skip,
This kayak new, was probably valued at over $500.00, however, it was purchased "used" for less than that at the pawn shop and probably does not meet the threshold for a class B felony. I appreciate your respectful disagreement. However, my friend is out a few hundred dollars and the pawn shop has profited from this sale.
Where is the justice?
|
If the value is less than $500 then the offense is a misdemeanor. Still a crime.
The justice occurs when the thief is prosecuted.
Yes, I know, in many cases justice is never served when the thief escapes or fails to make restitution.
My point was that a pawn shop employee does indeed face significant risk if he knowingly deals in stolen goods.
I can tell you from personal professional experience that pawn shops are under constant scrutiny from a variety of law enforcement agencies. That said some always still fall through the cracks. Unfortunately much dealing in stolen goods actually takes place via the internet via third parties such as Craig's List, which is much harder to track.
Finally for a variety of legal reasons once a criminal investigation is taking place no restitution will take place until the case is ajudicated. This is also true in most civil cases.
The short answer?
Many times there simply is no justice, and that is truly sad.