HomeMy WebLinkAbout889_Part 10 Ch 4_Prohibiting Obtaining Money By False PretenseTulsa County Clerk- EARLENE WILSON IIII
Doc # 2007042441 Pages 2
Receipt # 920353 04/2.0/07 1 1.13:01
Fee 15.06
CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA
ORDINANCE NO. 889
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO PART 10, OFFENSES & CRIMES,
CHAPTER 4, OFFENSES AGAINST THE HEALTH, WELFARE AND
MORALS, OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF OWASSO,
OKLAHOMA, AMENDING SAME BY PROHIBITING THE OBTAINING
OF MONEY, PROPERTY OR ANY VALUABLE THING BY TRICK,
DECEPTION, FALSE REPRESENTATION OR PRETENSE.
THIS ORDINANCE AMENDS PART 10, CHAPTER 4, OF THE CITY OF
OWASSO CODE OF ORDINANCES BY ADDING A NEW SECTION TO BE
CODIFIED AS SECTION 10 -423, OBTAINING MONEY BY TRICK OR
DECEPTION, FALSE REPRESENTATION OR PRETENSE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA,
THAT, TO -WIT:
SECTION ONE (1): Part Ten, Offenses & Crimes, Chapter Four, Offenses Against the Health,
Welfare and Morals, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Owasso, Oklahoma, shall be amended
by providing and codifying as follows:
SECTION 10 -423 OBTAINING MONEY BY TRICK OR DECEPTION, FALSE
REPRESENTATION OR PRETENSE
SECTION TWO (2):
Every person who, with intent to cheat and defraud, shall obtain or attempt to obtain from any
person, firm or corporation any money, property or valuable thing, of a value less than Five
Hundred Dollars ($500.00), by means or by use of any trick or deception, or false or fraudulent
representation or statement or pretense, or by any other means or instruments or device
commonly called the "confidence game," or by means or use of any false or bogus checks, or by
any other written or printed or engraved instrument or spurious coin, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
(State Law Reference: Obtaining Property by Trick or Deception- Attempt -False Representation or
Pretense - Confidence Game - Penalty 21 O.S. §1541.1)
SECTION THREE (3): REPEALER
A. All ordinances, or parts of ordinances, in conflict with this ordinance are hereby repealed to the
extent of the conflict only.
SECTION FOUR (4): SEVERABILITY
B. If any part or parts of this ordinance are deemed unconstitutional, invalid or ineffective, the
remaining portion shall not be affected but shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION FIVE (5): DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
C. The provisions of this ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days from the date of final
passage as provided by state law.
SECTION SIX (6): CODIFICATION
D. The City of Owasso Code of Ordinances is hereby amended by adding a new ordinance to be
codified in Part 10, Chapter 4, as section 10 -423.
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Owasso, Oklahoma on the 17TH day of April, 2007.
Sherry Bishop, Aty Clerk
City of Owasso
Attn: Shawn Reiss
P.O. Box 180
Owasso, Oklahoma 74055
legality this
4u-
Stephen Cat udella, Mayor
day of , 2007.
J Lombardi
City Attorney
PUBLISHER'S AFFIDAVIT
PUBLICATION DATE(S)
04/24/07
CASE NUMBER: ORD NO. 889
AD NUMBER: 00029351
LEGAL NOTICE
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
COUNTY OF Tulsa I SS
I, of lawful age, being duly sworn, am a legal representative
of Owasso Reporter of Owasso, Oklahoma, a daily newspaper
of general circulation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a newspaper quali-
fied to publish legal notices, advertisements and publications
as provided in Section 106 of Title 25, Oklahoma Statutes
1971 and 1982 as amended, and thereafter, and complies with
all other requirements of the laws of Oklahoma with-reference
to legal publications. That said notice, a true copy of which is
attached hereto was published in the regular edition of said
newspaper during the period and time of publication and not
in a supplement, on the ABOVE LISTED DATE(S)
Lymtllu G% i
Representative Signature
Subscribed to and sworn to me this 25th day of April, 2007.
CAROL MOORE
My commission number: 06011684
My commission expires: December 8, 2010
Customer #: 00000779
Customer: CITY OF OWASSO
Publisher's Fee: 52.80 NANCY CAROL MOORE
Notary Public - State of Oklahoma
Tulsa County
My Commission Expires December 8, 2010
Commission # 06011684
29351
Published in the Owasso Reporter, Owasso, Tulsa County,
Oklahoma, April 24, 2007.
CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA
ORDINANCE NO. 889
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO PART 10, OFFENSES &
CRIMES, CHAPTER 4, OFFENSES AGAINST THE HEALTH,
WELFARE AND MORALS, OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES
OF THE CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA, AMENDING SAME
BY PROHIBITING THE OBTAINING OF MONEY, PROPERTY
OR ANY VALUABLE THING BY TRICK, DECEPTION, FALSE
REPRESENTATION OR PRETENSE.
THIS ORDINANCE AMENDS PART 10, CHAPTER 4, OF THE
CITY OF OWASSO CODE OF ORDINANCES BY ADDING A
NEW SECTION TO BE CODIFIED AS SECTION 10 -423,
OBTAINING MONEY BY TRICK OR DECEPTION, FALSE REP-
RESENTATION OR PRETENSE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OWAS-
SO, OKLAHOMA, THAT, TO -WIT:
SECTION ONE (1): Part Ten. Offenses & Crimes, Chapter Four,
Offenses Against the Health, Welfare and Morals, of the Code of
Ordinances of the City of Owasso, Oklahoma, shall,be amended
by providing and codifying as follows:
SECTION 10-423 OBTAINING MONEY BY TRICK OR
DECEPTION, FALSE REPRESENTA-
TION OR PRETENSE
SECTION TWO (2):
(State Law Reference: Obtaining Property by Trick or Deception -
Attempt -False Representation or Pretense - Confidence Game -
Penalty 21 O.S. 1541.1)
SECTION THREE (3): REPEALER
A. All ordinances, or parts of ordinances, in conflict with this ordi-
nance are hereby repealed to the extent of the conflict only.
SECTION FOUR (4): SEVERABILITY
B. If any part or parts of this ordinance are deemed unconstitu-
tional, invalid or ineffective, the remaining portion shall not be
affected but shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION FIVE (5): DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
C. The provisions of this ordinance shall become effective thirty
(30) days from the date of final passage as provided by state law.
SECTION SIX (6): CODIFICATION
D. The City of Owasso Code of Ordinances is hereby amended
by adding a new ordinance to be codified in Part 10, Chapter 4, as
section 10 -423.
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Owasso, Oklahoma on
the 17TH day of April, 2007.
/s/ Stephen Cataudella, Mayor
ATTEST:
/s/ Sherry Bishop, City Clerk
(SEAL)
APPROVED as to form:
/a/ Julie Lombardi, City Attorney
MEMORANDUM
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF OWASSO
FROM: JULIE TROUT LOMBARDI
CITY ATTORNEY
SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF MONEY BY TRICK OR DECEPTION AND
EMBEZZLEMENT ORDINANCES
DATE: APRIL 12, 2007
BACKGROUND
The Chief of Police and several police officers have recommended that the City adopt ordinances
covering the obtaining of money by trick or deception and embezzlement. These requests have
been made 1) in an effort to align our local code of ordinances with statutory state law, 2) to
enable and authorize prosecution of selected offenses within the City of Owasso's Municipal
Court System rather than by referral to the District Attorney for prosecution in the District Court
of Tulsa County, and 3) to better enable the Owasso Police Department in its efforts to provide
law enforcement services. Officers within the department have noted areas of law enforcement
in which the Owasso Code of Ordinances is either silent or insufficiently comprehensive. In an
effort to resolve these omissions and disparities within our Code, enactment of the ordinances
discussed below is recommended.
Adoption of the proposed ordinances would allow offenders to be prosecuted within our
Municipal Court rather than requiring that the matter be forwarded to the Tulsa County District
Attorney. While the police department has authority to issue citations or make arrests for
violations of state statutes, including those discussed below, the matter cannot be prosecuted,
absent an ordinance, within Owasso's Municipal Court System. This issue is of importance
because the District Attorney has declined to prosecute various offenses in a number of
instances, thereby leaving the Owasso Police Department without an alternative avenue of
prosecution. The Department has been hampered in its efforts to prevent certain types of
conduct because the Owasso Code of Ordinances does not directly address or prohibit the
conduct, and the District Attorney is reluctant to prosecute these types of matters due to time,
personnel and money constraints, as well as overcrowded dockets within the State court system.
As a result, officers within our department are unable to effectively enforce the law.
In addition to these concerns, officers are at times unable to issue valid and justifiable citations
because the Owasso Code of Ordinances does not contain an on -point ordinance. In that
instance, the department is faced with the choice of either declining to issue a citation, or citing
the offender for an offense which is "close to" the offending conduct but which does not
precisely prohibit the offender's actions. Prosecution under a "close to" offense consistently is
subject to dismissal within the court system and thereby inhibits and obstructs the department's
efforts to provide effective law enforcement services.
DISCUSSION OF ORDINANCES
A Section 10 -423 Obtaining Money by Trick or Deception False Representation or Pretense.
The language within this proposed ordinance is taken almost verbatim from the corresponding
state statute, and would allow the City to prosecute offenses of this type wherein the merchandise
obtained by the offender has a value of less than $500. This ordinance is specifically designed to
curtail certain forms of theft within Owasso's larger stores. Specifically, crimes where an
offender enters a store, procures merchandise from the shelves and then attempts to "exchange"
the merchandise at the returns desk for a store credit would be prohibited by this ordinance.
With an ordinance, an arresting officer would retain the option to charge the offender under the
state statute but would additionally be able to charge the individual under the City's Code of
Ordinances and have the matter handled within the Owasso Municipal Court System. This
option has two significant advantages. First, even if the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office
declines to prosecute the matter due to the nature of the crime or the value of merchandise taken,
the offender does not wholly escape prosecution. Having an alternate venue for prosecution of
offenses the District Attorney declines to file is positive for officer morale and the reputation of
the Police Department, and allows police officers to enforce the law and deter other potential
offenders. Second, prosecuting these types of offenses with the Municipal Court eliminates the
need to transport the offender to the Tulsa County jail and thereby results in a saving of both
time and money on behalf of the Police Department.
B. Section 10 -424 Embezzlement
The language within this ordinance is taken from the state statute defining embezzlement and
declaring it to be unlawful. The ordinance has been shortened to eliminate inapplicable
provisions, and clarified to succinctly state the conduct that is unlawful and prohibited. As noted
within the body of the ordinance, fraudulent concealment, appropriation, conversion or use of the
property all constitute embezzlement and are subject to prosecution.
RECOMMENDATION
The staff will recommend City Council approval of the attached ordinances.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Ordinance No. 889, enacting Section 10 -423, Obtaining Money by Trick or Deception,
False Representation or Pretense
2. Ordinance No. 890, enacting Section 10 -424, Embezzlement
2