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By Melody Jameson
mj@observernews.net
RUSKIN -- One man sits in jail, another is filing legal claims, a third is standing on principle. And, it’s all over a small piece of heavy equipment now in limbo here.
Under arrest is Adam Arena, 35, who gave officers a St. Petersburg home address. He is being held in the Manatee County jail, charged with several offenses and under a combined bond of $50,000, according to the Manatee Sheriff’s Office.
Meanwhile, Tom Tavernier, manager of the heavy equipment section of the Bradenton Rent-All on west 14th Street in Bradenton, has been in Hillsborough County this week filing a second legal claim to recover his company’s property.
And Doug Jewett, proprietor of Pawn Pros II in Ruskin, reluctant to relinquish his key to recovering a substantial pawn advance, is holding his position that partial resolution could be a compromise.
As for little back hoe in dispute, it rests now on the storage lot of Pawn Pros II, 2 Dickman Drive, not making money for anyone.
The situation began to unfold on June 4, when Arena visited Bradenton Rental-All. He asked about renting a 2006 Terramite T5C construction backhoe for a day, Tavernier told The Observer this week. Arena was quoted and accepted a rental fee, completed required paperwork and departed with the little backhoe equipped with extending arms front and back, and about the bulk size of a farm tractor. The equipment, valued at $15,000, was to be returned the following day, Friday, June 5, Tavernier said.
On Friday, when the equipment was expected back in Bradenton, Arena telephoned the rental business and asked about a second day’s rental, the manager added. It was agreed the Terramite would be returned on Monday, June 8. On Monday, though, it was not returned nor did it show up on Tuesday, June 9. On Wednesday, June 10, Tavernier began physically tracking the back hoe, going to Arena’s St. Petersburg address in search of it and ultimately reporting his equipment as stolen to Manatee authorities, he said.
By this time, however, the Terramite was in Ruskin, used not to dig buckets of soil but to make fast money.
The little back hoe, in addition to its dual working extensions, also was equipped with the kind of automobile security and tracking device commonly known as “Lojack”. When it was reported as stolen and the theft entered into law enforcement data bases, the device was triggered. Consequently, on June 12 the Florida Highway Patrol alerted the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office it pinpointed the Terramite in Ruskin. Hillsborough’s detective found the equipment in the Pawn Pros II storage adjacent to its office.
Arena apparently had trucked the Terramite to the pawn broker’s site, receiving and pocketing $4,000 for it as pawned equipment, said Hillsborough Sheriff’s spokesman, J. D. Callaway.
Hillsborough issued an arrest warrant on June 17 and Arena was picked up on June 18 in the Westshore area of Tampa.
Today, the St. Petersburg man remains in jail in Manatee County, charged in that jurisdiction with grand theft. Manatee Sheriff’s records also show he is under a hold for Hillsborough County which is pressing charges of defrauding a pawn broker and possession of stolen equipment.
Neither the arrest nor the charges, however, restores the Terramite to its Bradenton owner or reimburses the Ruskin pawn broker for the money he advanced on the equipment against the future possibility of either getting it back when the equipment was redeemed or taking legal ownership and resale rights to the back hoe.
Early this week, Tavernier noted he had filed a notice of claim with Pawn Pros II on June 17 as soon as he learned of the Terramite’s location and waited the prescribed 10 days for its return by the pawn broker. The broker, though, has steadfastly refused to release the equipment without the $4,000 he’s out for the advance, Tavernier complained.
Consequently, Tavernier said he planned to file a formal statement of claim asserting his company’s right to return of the Terramite with the Hillsborough County court early in the week. It will become a matter for the courts to decide, he said.
Jewett, however, is standing firm on his conviction that he has done nothing wrong. The Terramite, he pointed out, was not marked or labeled in any way; he did not know and could not have known that it was stolen property when he accepted it in pawn, he told The Observer.
Acknowledging that he has had several conversations with Tavernier, Jewett said he offered a compromise: a 50-50 split of the $4,000 loss in order to return the equipment to Bradenton. Tavernier was not interested in the offer, Jewett said.
As for putting a stop to another of Arena’s apparent money-making ploys in the future, Jewett pointed out that it is his information – the standard thumb print and paperwork information collected by the honest pawn broker – that will help make the case against the alleged thief, putting him behind bars for years.
And, on this one point, he and Tavernier agree: it’s going to be up to the courts – criminal and civil -- now.
©2009 Melody Jameson
What follows is a public comments section. This is not from the Observer News staff - it comes from other people and contains their opinions and theirs alone. The Observer News does not control the material that follows. We do, however, reserve the right to remove objectionable material at our discretion. By that we mean that we will edit or delete any content that we deem is inappropriate. By posting your comments, you are stating that you agree to these terms.
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Comments
HELLOOO!!!
10 Jul 2009, 14:22
MAYBE PEOPLE SHOULD STOP PAWNING STOLEN STUFF AND SELL IT ON THE STREET WHERE IT WILL NEVER BE FOUND... COME ON PEOPLE ..WAKE UP TO REALITY!!!!
HELLOOO!!!
10 Jul 2009, 14:22
MAYBE PEOPLE SHOULD STOP PAWNING STOLEN STUFF AND SELL IT ON THE STREET WHERE IT WILL NEVER BE FOUND... COME ON PEOPLE ..WAKE UP TO REALITY!!!!
HELLOOO!!!
10 Jul 2009, 14:22
MAYBE PEOPLE SHOULD STOP PAWNING STOLEN STUFF AND SELL IT ON THE STREET WHERE IT WILL NEVER BE FOUND... COME ON PEOPLE ..WAKE UP TO REALITY!!!!
Susan James
09 Jul 2009, 09:12
He didn't know it was stolen if we all believe that the we all have to believe in honest Pawn Brokers! He didn't ask the man to see a bill of sale with the mans name on it? What he saw was a piece of equipment he could make a great profit on. Let's be real here people.
SeemsLogical
08 Jul 2009, 21:44
Seems to me the pawn broker should have been more diligent in determining ownership - The backhoe DID have a lojack after all. JMHO
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