Air Date: 6/5/2006
Twenty-one-year-old Travis G.L. Orcutt of Wathena, Kansas is charged with receiving stolen property in St. Joseph. Police say the crime took place in Wathena but Orcutt sold the merchandise here in St. Joseph.
Collaborating with local pawn shops helped police mount evidence against Orcutt. Pony Express Pawn shop manager Clint Peden says he sees an increase in stolen merchandise coming through his doors.
"It’s getting to be more and more all the time. Unemployment is getting higher in this area, and I’m seeing more problems. We’re getting more and more phone calls all the time and more and more cases where they actually find stuff," Peden says. Peden is referring to St. Joseph police, who often use pawn shops as a gold mine for information on hot products.
"We have a partnership agreement where we work with them and they work with us. They don’t want really want to get involved with stolen property," St. Joseph Police Commander Jim Connors says.
Peden says that’s because he
becomes the victim too if his store unknowingly buys stolen goods. "We
have to go through the process of getting our money back. Usually it takes us a
while to get any return on that because there’s usually jail time, and when
they get out, they can’t get much of a job,"
Pawn shops and police use a safety system to cross check items that are thought to be stolen.
"When people bring in pawned merchandise, it’s a Missouri state law that we have to use the Leads Online program. Basically we have to have a driver’s license or some form of identification--either state or federal with a picture and a hologram--we take all the information off that plus the information of what merchandise they’re bringing in and what the actual serial numbers are. All of that gets emailed to a data base that gets checked against 2/3 of the country," Peden says.
"We can quickly check our offense reports to see if it’s the owner, if it is not the owner, see who the person is," Cmdr. Connors says.
Pawn is confidential, but police can ask shops to hold merchandise as evidence against suspects. "If they’ve got an ongoing case, they’ll have me hold everything in case more victims come forward," Peden says.
Police say it becomes extremely frustrating when they think they’ve recovered stolen goods but can’t prove it. Officers recommend making a mark on your property showing it’s yours. Travis Orcutt has been released from jail with a summons to appear in Buchanan County court tomorrow where he will hear charges against him. Charges in Wathena are pending.
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