December 23, 2019
Today, Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes and AG staff teamed up with the Unified Police Department for Operation Give Back! Instead of a ticket, people were given presents in honor of the holiday season.
Watch the KSL coverage below:
Check out photos from the event:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2019
BIG DOG PAWN & JEWELRY OWNERS ENTER PLEA AGREEMENTS TO FELONY CHARGES
SALT LAKE CITY – Today, the Utah Attorney General’s Office announced that the principal owners of Big Dog Pawn & Jewelry of Murray, Inc., have entered plea agreements to felony charges after investigations into the pawn shop revealed unlawful activity, including money laundering and receiving stolen property.
On June 19, 2018, Special Agents from the Utah Attorney General’s Office served search warrants on seven different pawn shops, one being Big Dog Pawn & Jewelry, and seized several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of new-in-the-box merchandise alleged to be stolen from various local retailers.
Monte McKee, 68, and Kelli Carpenter, 43, were charged with felony Pattern of Unlawful Activity, Money Laundering, and several Misdemeanor counts of Receiving Stolen Property. On February 8th, both defendants entered a Plea in Abeyance to the felony Pattern of Unlawful Activity charge and the remaining counts were dismissed. No judgment of convictions will be entered pending good behavior probation.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, both defendants agree not to be involved in the pawn industry in the future, and Big Dog Pawn & Jewelry, Inc., which is no longer in business, will be dissolved.
Additionally, the defendants waived any claim to the seized property. Retailers who believe they were victims of retail theft and whose merchandise may have been pawned at that location are encouraged to file claims with the court in Third District Court case no. 180906356.
In response to this investigation, Representative Eric K. Hutchings introduced HB 394 Pawnshop and Secondhand Merchandise Amendments in the 2019 Legislative Session on February 21, 2019. This bill clarifies definitions regarding pawn shops, clarifies that a pawn or secondhand merchandise dealer may not accept certain property, improves the central database, limits the amount of transactions between a pawnbroker and an individual, and provides online training of shops and law enforcement.
The Utah Attorney General’s Office would like to thank all the law enforcement agencies and local officers who assisted in serving the warrants and evidence seizures. Special thanks are offered to Supervisory Special Agents Chris Walden and James Russell of the Utah Attorney General’s Office and to Detective Parsons Metzkow of the Unified Police Department.
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Notes:
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, AG Investigators, and the Unified Police Department teamed up just before Christmas to spread some holiday spirit and to give back to the community. Over two dozen Utahns were pulled over for real traffic violations, but instead of receiving a ticket, they received cash, gift certificates, and other prizes, much to the delight and relief of the drivers.
Attorney General Reyes came up with the idea after he’d seen similar pranks done by other agencies on YouTube. “We’ve got law enforcement men and women who really care beyond just being great professionals, they’re human beings and they want to lift people,” said Attorney General Reyes.
This is the second year the Attorney General’s Office and the Unified Police Department have joined together for what is now becoming their favorite tradition.
Check out the coverage below:
KUTV: Orem police give out gifts instead of tickets
ABC 4: Operation Giveback
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. @SeanReyesUT @UTHighwayPatrol @UPDSL @UtahAG @dmoreno274 cambiaron las MULTAS por REGALOS!! historia completa en Facebook de @univision32 //Say NO to tickets, say YES to PRESENTS this is how Utah officer gave back to the community… full story on Facebook. pic.twitter.com/u79CpF2G4s
— Lester Rojas (@lrojas288) December 29, 2018
Photo by Lester Rojas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2018
UTAH AG FILES FORFEITURE COMPLAINTS FOR OVER $1 MILLION IN ASSETS
Complaints part of an ongoing pawn shop investigation by multiple Utah agencies
SALT LAKE CITY – Today, Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes announced the filing of three civil forfeiture complaints for merchandise and currency seized on June 19th from seven pawn shop locations by the Attorney General’s Justice Division. The complaints come as part of an ongoing, multi-agency investigation into local pawn shops.
The pawn shops allegedly engaged in a pattern of purchasing new-in-the-box items under circumstances that clearly should have alerted pawn shops that the merchandise was stolen. Included in the allegations is a pattern of purchasing stolen property from the same customers repeatedly, as well as a history of possession of stolen property.
“This investigation began when the Home Depot approached Unified Police Department and the Attorney General’s Office with concerns about the amount of losses it was suffering due to retail theft in Utah. According to Home Depot, it has lost around $60 million dollars to theft in Utah over the last five years,” said Dave Carlson, AG Justice Division Director. “The sale of stolen property to pawn shops also helps fuel Utah’s serious opioid problem as most of the offenders who commit retail theft and sell the stolen items to pawn shops are doing it to support a drug habit.”
The seizure of the merchandise and currency occurred during a multi-agency operation led by special agents from the AG’s Investigations Division and detectives from Unified Police Department. The complaints seek to forfeit hundreds of new-in-the-box-items that the Attorney General’s Office alleges were stolen from various local retailers and then sold to pawn shops. Agents and detectives also seized currency from the pawn shops which allegedly represent proceeds from the sale of stolen property.
The pawn shops from which the merchandise and currency were seized are: Sportsman Fastcash with locations in West Valley and Salt Lake City; Xtreme Pawn with locations in Kearns, West Jordan, Riverton, and Lindon; and Big Dog Pawn & Jewelry located in Murray.
Numerous local retail establishments whose stolen property is believed to have been seized from the possession of these pawn shops are included in the forfeiture action. The forfeiture action will allow retailers the opportunity to recover stolen property. Property and currency not claimed by the rightful owner and forfeited to the State by the court is paid over to the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice to be dispersed according to state law.
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