Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WEST JORDAN — Utah County sheriff’s deputies say they have busted a serial thief with a penchant for pawn shops, but victims may have to wait to get their possessions back.
Deputies say 39-year-old Kirk Olson visited pawn shops 651 times in recent years, often with goods he had just stolen. His last visit was to a West Jordan shop with $1,900 worth of items.
“We look at that and we think, ‘Wow! That’s obviously suspicious. How can someone get away with it?’” said state pawn board member Holden Rockwell. “There’s no law saying that someone can’t pawn 100 items in a week.”
Rockwell said a stolen rare knife led Utah County sheriff’s deputies to Olson.
The Daily Herald also reports Olson, from Midvale, kept the stolen items in a backpack he stole from Spanish Fork and tried to pawn everything in West Jordan. Deputies say they found a stolen gun in the backpack, which Olson initially denied having.
The paper also reported he was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of burglary, theft by deception and two counts of theft.
Deputies found some of the items in a stolen property database. Pawn shops must catalog everything they receive. State law mandates victims need more proof the items are theirs to claim. Stolen property found at pawn shops must first be reviewed by officers and then prosecutors who must clear it from evidence.
Contributing: Xoel Cardenas
