CAPE CORAL, Fla. - A Lee county man is accused of going into a Cape Coral Wal-Mart and using a stolen credit card from a car burglary.
Cape Coral Police arrested Theodore Meagher when he bought a Playstation 4 console with the stolen card. Investigators said Meagher then tried to pawn off the gaming console.
However, he got caught thanks in part to state laws that govern pawn shops.
"There is a statute that if you know or should've known an item was stolen, you're not allowed to take it," Todd Koskinas told 4 In Your Corner.
Koskinas owns Cape Jewelry and Pawn. He says the law could punish shops like his if they buy stolen goods.
"We can be fined $1000 per bad transaction or imprisoned if we make those kind of mistakes," Koskinas said.
Koskinas gave 4 In Your Corner a few suggestions to help protect your valuables from being pawned off in the event they're stolen.
"I'd recommend everyone invest in a $5 engraver," Koskinas said. "Engrave the item with your name on it," he said.
It's also a good idea to not just mark down your name and "do not pawn" on your items.
Koskinas encourages people to keep track of important model and serial numbers on your valuables.
"If they are stolen, you can report it quickly. They will go in the pawn finder database and they will look for them," Koskinas said.
