“I’m a victim twice here,” said Scot Davidge, director of the Ohio Performing Arts Institute.
Thieves broke into the music and dance school at 1616 E. High St. over the New Year’s holiday weekend and Davidge said the culprits got away with nearly $20,000 of electronics. That included speakers, a music system and cameras.
No arrests have been made. But Springfield police found one of the missing cameras at a pawn shop.
“So then they find my camera and I go ‘Yay! I’m going to get my camera back!’ and then whoosh — it costs me another $100 dollars because of this law,” Davidge said.
That law is the Ohio Pawnbrokers Act. As part of the lengthy rules and regulations of the pawn shop industry in Ohio, the law protects shop owners who unknowingly buy stolen goods, said Lou Tansky, president of the Ohio Pawnbrokers Association.
“Any business owner would want to protect themselves,” Tansky said.
Larry Beloff’s family has been in the pawn and loan business since 1933, when his father opened Max’s Jewelry and Loan Co. in Springfield. His shop isn’t the one that bought Davidge’s camera.
Shop owners work closely with police to make sure that if stolen goods are sold at a shop, they can easily identify the seller, Beloff said.
“We want to make sure that if the item is really stolen that it gets back to the individual,” he said.
Less than half of 1 percent of all pawned merchandise is identified as stolen goods, according to the pawnbroker’s association.
That’s because by state law, pawn shops are required to check every seller’s ID and record that information. They also record each item that’s pawned or sold each day and who sold it and then submit their sales to police for cross-inspection.
That process often deters thieves from trying to sell stolen goods at the stores, Beloff said.
Davidge understands it’s not the pawn shop’s fault they bought a stolen camera, but he doesn’t believe rightful owners should have to pay to get their items back.
“I’m paying twice … I’m just amazed,” Davidge said.
Victims usually pay the shop and then have the option to sue the seller or get their money back in criminal court as restitution if the thief is caught and convicted, Beloff said. They also could submit a claim to their insurance.
The law protects victims and business owners, Beloff said, and most pawn shop operators just want to make sure everyone, including people whose goods were stolen, are treated fairly.
“We took (stolen items) in innocently, and we provide information for (victims) to get it back,” Beloff said. “All we’re asking is just what we paid for it, we’re not asking to profit or anything like that.”
But Davidge said he’s not happy with the law and wants it changed.
“I’m going to personally write the governor,” he said. “I’m on a crusade. Because it’s outrageous.”
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