Pawn blacklist makes fencing goods tougher

After a year of research by Carson City Sheriff's detectives on more than 4,000 convicted criminals in Carson City, Detective Bob Motamenpour on Thursday made the rounds to Carson City pawn shops with a list of 683 people who pawn shops should not do business with.

Motamenpour delivered the "Pawn Exclusion List" along with a copy of the Nevada Revised Statute that explains pawn shops and second hand dealers are prohibited by law from receiving property from those who are deemed a "common drunkard, habitual user of controlled substances, habitual criminal, habitual felon ... known thief or receiver of stolen property or known associate of a thief or receiver of stolen property." The list is made up of repeat offenders in the city. If a person has been arrested more than twice, they've likely made the list, said Motamenpour.

"All subjects listed are forbidden to sell or pawn any items at any of the Carson City pawn shops or second hand dealers," he said.

If a pawn shop is found to be in violation of the law it could result in a $1,000 fine.

"It is the intent of this procedure to reduce the marketability of the stolen goods and to make Carson City a less appealing environment for the criminal elements to conduct business," Motamenpour said.

He said pawn shops in the city lose thousands of dollars every year when investigators seize stolen property from their shops.

Currently, pawn shops drop off the receipts of their day's transactions to the Carson City Sheriff's Office. The information is put into the department computers and officers use it when investigating stolen property.

"That's how we cross reference and find stolen property," said Motamenpour.

That also will be how law enforcement is notified if a shop violates the law.

But that's not likely to happen, said John Ohl, general manager of Capital City Loans on Highway 50 East. Ohl said the list helps his employees do a better job of weeding out stolen items from their daily business.

"When you can identify a certain problem customer that's not only a nuisance to the stores but obviously a problem to our economy by ripping everyone off, it's a good thing. Let's take out a certain element of people and let's deal with legit customers," he said. "I think it's a good tool."

Motamenpour said the list will be updated quarterly with new names added and names removed if warranted.