Proving It`s Your Property Once It`s Been Stolen

If a burglar ever made his way to your home, you may expect to never see your stuff again. But a Conway man says it happened to him, and that he found his property at a pawn shop. So far, Dale Smith hasn`t been able to get it back. Circle C Pawn says they cannot confirm whether they have Smith`s guitar and jewelry, because loans are confidential. "I went to the one in Morgan and the lady said, `yeah, you need to call the police,` and she said I could either pay for my stuff the money she loaned on my stuff, I could pay that and get it back," Smith said. By county law, pawn shops are protected from having to return the items so that they don`t become victims either. To retrieve his guitar and jewelry, Smith could wait on the law. "Or I could just wait til forever, until they prosecute the guy and then get it back," Smith said. Attorney General Mike Beebe`s office says the law says a pawnbroker must return stolen property to the owner if the person claiming to be the owner can prove it. The Conway Police Department says ownership is hard to prove without serial numbers, although descriptors or identifying marks are helpful.