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Is it illegal to keep jewelry that you found in the street?
Anonymous5 views3 answers
i found a gold chain in a parking lot about 4 months ago ,kept it while debating what to do with it.finally sold it at a place that buys gold at the mall,did not realize they take your license ,a picture and so on. now i am worried that i can get in trouble for theft if it was reported stolen.
Usually the way they do it is you give it to the police and if no one claims it in 30 days its yours. I couldnt comment on whether you'd get in trouble.
In PA, merchants who buy gold have to maintain custody of the items for a short time and have to report the purchase to the county District Attorney's Office. The purpose is to allow for the DA's office (generally a county detective) to run the property in a data base to see if the items were reported missing or stolen.
We do have an offense called Theft of Property Lost or Delivered by Mistake but under the circumstances you have described, I think a criminal charge would be unlikely. In the unlikely event that a law enforceement officer calls or shows up to speak with you, I suggest that you be polite but tell that person that you want a lawyer present with you before answering any questions. A good criminal defense attorney will know whether it is in your best interests to speak to police or not.
