NON-RETURN OF RENTAL ITEMS ON INCREASE, SAYS AREA PROSECUTOR

Don't forget to return those videos you rented last night.

Whether you know it or not, failure to return rental property -- any rental property -- could cost you up to $5,000 in fines and two to five years in a state penitentiary.

Bollinger County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Hopkins said he is getting an increased number of reports of unreturned rental property from businesses, and he wants to do something about it.

"Anytime you go out and rent something and don't have any intention of returning it, it's stealing," Hopkins said. "From what I'm hearing, I think it's a significant problem. That's why we want all of these businesses to take advantage of this."

Hopkins said he has heard of a number of incidents videos, stereos, furniture and other items not being returned to area businesses. He has prepared notification letters for business people that he said will make the prosecution of criminal cases easier.

"I'm encouraging the businesses to follow up on this," he said. "It's a class C felony if it gets over $150, and a class A misdemeanor for under $150. The misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in the county jail and, or a $1,000 fine. The felony is punishable by two to five years in the penitentiary or a $5,000 fine, or both."

Kristi Landewee handles the paperwork for these cases in the Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney's office. She said the number of complaints she receives in a month vary. For example, six cases were received in October, but none in November or December, she said.

Landewee said businesses will send out notification letters requesting the property be returned within 10 days. If it isn't returned, a complaint is filed with the police department, which conducts an investigation. If the property is not recovered by police, she said, the complaint is sent to her for processing.

We usually send a 10-day letter saying we'll file charges," Landewee said. "If we don't hear anything, we usually file charges.

Landewee said none of the failure-to-return cases has ever gone to trial in Cape Girardeau County, although once a jury trial was set before the person decided to plead guilty. Many times people do not respond to the letters at all, she said. However, if a person continues to disregard the summons, and does not return the property, a warrant can be issued for an arrest.

"Sometimes we have warrants out on people and they aren't even aware of it until their name gets run through on a traffic ticket or something," she said.

Landewee said people should also realize that three unreturned videos could get a person charged with a felony rather than a misdemeanor. "It's not really the price of what your rental is worth; it's the price of the movie," she said. "If a movie is worth, say $60, that could hit $150 really quickly."