Lebanon city ordered to turn over buy-sell records to attorney

(Harrisburg) — The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records on Friday ordered the city of Lebanon to turn over buy and sell shop records to a defense attorney representing one of the defendants in the JT’s Buy and Sell criminal case.

Attorney Christopher Coyle, who is representing former store employee Dwaine N. Wike, asked the city in April for records that JT’s Buy and Sell submitted to the city of the store’s transactions.

The city denied Coyle’s request, stating the records he was seeking were part of a criminal investigation. Coyle then filed an appeal with the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records.

A city ordinance requires any business engaged in the buying and selling of merchandise to obtain government identification from the sellers, hold the items for 15 days and report the purchase of the items to police daily.

Larry A. Jones, the owner of JT’s Buy and Sell, was arrested April 2 on charges that he and others were involved in a ring that bought and sold merchandise stolen from area retailers.

Wike, 38, of Lebanon, is a former employee at the store, which was located at South Eighth and Chestnut streets in Lebanon.

Wike was charged with corrupt organizations, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, organized retail theft and receiving stolen property, conspiracy, persons not to possess a firearm, and a violation of the Pawnbroker’s License Act.

Three others, Gary L. Stegall, 28, Lebanon, William C. Taylor, 23, Myerstown, and Shaun A. Gettle, 35, Womelsdorf, were also charged.

At the end of May. Coyle added the district attorney’s office in his appeal to the state open records office. The district attorney’s office argued the requested records are part of a criminal investigation and are exempt from disclosure.

In a written statement to the state open records office, Coyle contended that the records he is seeking were made “in the routine course of city government operations” regarding its buy and sell ordinance.

Neither the city or the district attorney’s office provided “competent evidence in support of withholding the requested records,” according to the ruling issued Friday by open records office assistant chief counsel J. Chadwick Schnee.

In his ruling, Schnee noted the ordinance requiring buy and sell shop owners to provide weekly reports to the police predated the current criminal investigation. The district attorney’s office told the open records office that a weekly report prompted the criminal investigation.

“…(T)here can be no dispute that, had the city chosen to not conduct a criminal investigation, the record could not be in any way related to a criminal investigation,” Schnee stated in his ruling.

The open records office gave the city 30 days to provide the requested records unless the city or the district attorney’s office files an appeal in Lebanon County Common Pleas Court.

Lebanon city solicitor Donna Long Brightbill and Lebanon County District Attorney David Arnold were unavailable for comment Friday afternoon on whether an appeal will be filed.

At the time of Jones’ arrest, Arnold said employees at Jones’ store routinely purchased merchandise they knew, or had reason to believe was stolen.

People selling stolen items to JT’s used the money to buy drugs, mainly heroin, Arnold said when Jones was arrested in April. Some people went to the store several times a day to exchange items for cash so they could buy drugs, the district attorney said in April.

The charges were filed after a 15-month investigation by the Lebanon County Drug Task Force.

Law enforcement became aware of the ring after police arrested a woman on shoplifting charges. During a search of her vehicle, police found a handwritten list of items, including specific model numbers. The woman told police that she had been given the list by an employee at JT’s Buy and Sell and was told she would get more items from the buy and sell store for items on the list.

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This article comes to us through a partnership between Lebanon Daily News and WITF.