Flea Market Owner Sentenced for Receiving Stolen Property; Also Faces Federal Gun Charge
IRONTON, Ohio (WSAZ) -- The co-owner of the Proctorville Flea Market is headed to prison.
Jeffrey Jones, of Proctorville, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. One year and $2,500 on each count. He was also ordered to forfeit merchandise and monies confiscated during the investigation.
In May, Jones pleaded guilty to four counts of receiving stolen property, fifth-degree felony charges.
The charges stem back to August 2012, when the Proctorville Flea Market was raided by the Lawrence Drug and Major Crimes Task Force.
At the time, Task Force Director Tim Sexton said the raid was the result of an investigation that revealed stolen property, or property believed to be stolen, was being purchased by Jones.
Sexton said a group of eight to 10 people was shoplifting products from numerous drug stores across the region and exchanging those items for cash at the flea market. The items then ended up on flea market shelves at cut-rate prices.
Sexton says the drug stores included Walgreens, CVS and Rite-Aid’s all around the region, including the Charleston area.
In May, Jones pleaded guilty to a federal firearm charge during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Huntington..
Federal prosecutors say that on March 15, 2012, a police informant contacted Jones by telephone and arranged to purchase a .22-caliber pistol.
Afterward, Jones met the informant at a predetermined location in Huntington and sold the pistol in exchange for $150.
Prosecutors say that Jones knew prior to the transaction, the person (informant) had been convicted of a felony and was not permitted to possess a firearm. Then during the transaction, Jones told the police informant to wipe down the guns and that if anything happened he would report the gun stolen.
Jones also sold an additional five firearms to the same police informant. All of the firearm transactions were monitored and recorded by police, according to federal prosecutors. .
Jones faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on the federal charge later this month.