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WEST JORDAN — After a yearlong investigation, criminal charges have been filed against a pawn shop manager accused of turning a blind eye to buying items that police say were obviously stolen.
John "Johnny" Michael Jones, 40, of West Jordan, was charged last week in 3rd District Court with engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, receiving stolen property and communications fraud, first-degree felonies; theft and receiving stolen property, second-degree felonies; and three counts of receiving stolen property, a third-degree felony.
Johnson is the manager of Xtreme Pawn, 7106 S. Redwood Road. Johnson has been buying and selling merchandise with "little to no questions" asked about where the items came from, according to a statement from the Utah Attorney General's Office. Many of the items seized by police were still in their original boxes, some with the store security devices still attached, according to prosecutors.
"Detectives seized an estimated $1.2 million in brand-new in-the-box merchandise when warrants were served during the investigation," the attorney general's statement says. "The affected retail and outlet stores included Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Shopko, Kroger Foods, Bed Bath and Beyond, CVS Pharmacy and others."
Prosecutors contend that Jones stated that “probably 80% of everything they buy is stolen.”
Related:
Utah attorney general seeks $1M in civil forfeiture from 7 pawn shops
The Utah Attorney General's Office is seeking to seize more than $1 million in assets from pawn shops that were raided by law enforcement.On June 19, 2018, law enforcers served search warrants on seven pawn shops along the Wasatch Front simultaneously following numerous complaints that some were acting as fencing operations, or knowingly purchasing stolen goods from people.
The investigation began after Home Depot officials reported to Unified police that they had lost about $60 million due to retail theft over the past five years, according to a statement from Attorney General Sean Reyes' office.
In September, Reyes held a press conference to announce his office had filed three civil forfeiture complaints against the pawn shops. The pawn shops that had items seized are Sportsman Fastcash in West Valley City and Salt Lake City; Xtreme Pawn in Kearns, West Jordan, Riverton and Lindon; and Big Dog Pawn & Jewelry in Murray.
Editor's note: An earlier version reported incorrectly that John "Johnny" Michael Jones is the owner of Xtreme Pawn. He is the manager.
