Detective honored for fighting metal theft

October 30, 2007

The Texas Chapter of the American Foundry Society gave Shreveport Police Detective Roger Courtney an award for

his outstanding efforts in combating metal theft.

The society presented the award to Courtney during a special meeting held in Shreveport on Oct. 26.

Courtney handles pawn shops, scrap yards and second hand dealers, working as a one-man unit to determine

whether the businesses are following the requirements set forth in the Louisiana Pawn Law, as well as city ordinances.

From January to September, Courtney closed 56 pawn or scrap-related cases by arrest, including 10 cases that

involved a group of people who were renting items from rental stores and pawning them at pawn shops.

He has recovered more than $365,515 in stolen merchandise from pawn shops and scrap yards. He was

instrumental in getting the LeadsOnline program to track stolen merchandise. He also is working on new

legislation that would require scrap yards to photograph and get a thumbprint of anyone selling scrap metal.

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