Don't pay for your own stolen property at a pawn shop

I've worked with crime victims for over 30 years, and know it adds insult to injury to have to buy your own property back from a pawnshop. Well, you don't have to. A court can return property to the rightful owner — you — without you having to pay for it.

My car was burglarized. The police did a good job, but I knew there wasn't much chance of the perpetrators being caught. At best, I expected my stolen property might show up at a pawn shop.

Sure enough, six months later it did. When I told the pawnbroker I wanted it back, he said, "Sure. But you have to pay what it was pawned for." I said, "We'll see about that!"

I've worked with crime victims for over 30 years, and know it adds insult to injury to have to buy your own property back from a pawnshop. Well, you don't have to. A court can return property to the rightful owner — you — without you having to pay for it.

Florida Statutes Sections 78.01 and 539.001(15) enable you to recover your property from a pawn shop without paying for it. But you must follow the proper steps. You may have to go through small claims court, but if you do it right the pawn shop will not only have to return your property, but will have to pay any court costs and lawyer fees you incur.

Here, in a nutshell, is what to do. First, read those two statutes — and follow them to the letter. Second, you must have reported the theft to police when it happened.

Third, you must be able to positively identify the property as yours. That requires a serial number, or other unique marking — such as your initials — on the property. In the case of one-of-a-kind jewelry, such as a family heirloom, you'll need an appraisal, a photo or something that proves it's yours.

Once you have located your property, you must notify the pawnshop of your claim. Statute 539 spells out how that must be done. You must follow it precisely.

When you locate your property in a pawnshop, to assure it isn't sold you should call police to the shop, identify your property and request that a "hold" be placed on the item. Be sure to provide the officer with the case report number from your original theft report. If the theft was reported to a different police department, make sure the officer knows this as well.

Placing a "hold" is usually sufficient to secure your property from sale, but in some circumstances police can seize it, as evidence of the theft, until a court orders it returned to you. However, police have limited evidence storage space so don't request this unless you have some legitimate reason to believe the pawnshop may not honor the "hold."

When you have placed a "hold," and given the proper notice to the pawnshop, what happens next depends on the shop. Most are reputable and, if they know the law, will realize the potential costs of refusing to return your property. You'll likely get it back without having to go to court.

If you get your property back, and your insurance company has already paid you for it, they are going to want either their money, or the item, from you. In my case, my insurance company had already paid, and I had already replaced the item, so I turned the recovered stolen one over to them. Don't get greedy. Insurance fraud is a felony!

Gary Beatty lives in Sharpes and is retired from 30 years as an assistant state attorney in Brevard County. He has a doctorate in law and is certified in criminal trial law by the Florida Bar.

I've worked with crime victims for over 30 years, and know it adds insult to injury to have to buy your own property back from a pawnshop. Well, you don't have to. A court can return property to the rightful owner — you — without you having to pay for it.