TEXARKANA, Ark–An Arkansas circuit judge has dismissed a felony theft case against a Texarkana, Ark., pawnshop owner accused of accepting property he knew was stolen, saying a state law concerning dealers of secondhand goods prohibits the charge.
William “Bill” Duffer, 53, owner of Tri-State Pawn & Jewelry on State Line Ave. in Texarkana, Ark., was charged with felony theft by receiving in Miller County last year following a search of his business Sept. 11.
Circuit Judge Edwin Keaton signed an order late last month dismissing the case, ruling that a pawnbroker cannot be charged under the state’s theft by receiving statute because another state law outlining “a specific regulatory statute for dealers of secondhand goods” should apply.
Lawyers for Duffer had argued in a second motion to dismiss that the law governing dealers of secondhand goods, including pawnbrokers, provides for a misdemeanor penalty unlike the theft by receiving statute, which includes the possibility of time in an Arkansas prison.
Judge Keaton was appointed to preside over the case by the Arkansas Supreme Court after circuit judges serving Miller County declined to handle the case.