Lawrence Police and other law enforcement authorities today were removing items from a Lawrence secondhand shop that has been under investigation as part of an alleged fencing operation for stolen goods.
A U.S. Postal Service inspector was on the scene as part of the serving of a federal search warrant at the Yellow House, 1904 Mass.
Witnesses said they also saw officers at the home of Guy and Carrie Neighbors, the store owners.
The store owners have maintained their innocence and say police have unfairly targeted them.
Lawrence police have been investigating the business since last year, focusing on the alleged purchase and resale of stolen goods through the secondhand store and online sales. Police took the unusual step of making public their investigation, though there were no charges filed or arrests made in the months ensuing.
It wasn't immediately clear what would come from today's police activity at the business, though early indications were that there were no arrests at the store or the Neighbors' home.
The fencing investigation by local police has come under scrutiny by the FBI because of allegations that some Lawrence officers had posed as federal agents while conducting their investigation.
Comments
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Sigmund (anonymous) says…
What ever happened to that convicted felon who accused the LPD of impersonating Federal Agents and the ambulence chasing mouth piece?
kujeeper (anonymous) says…
There's is a chance a person could be targeted by a local law enforcement agency, not just in Lawrence, but in any town. However, if you have the FBI and the postal inspector show up, you're probably giving them a real good reason.... Everyone in town knows these people are crooks and run a shady operation. Lock them up!
OldEnuf2BYurDad (anonymous) says…
Interesting. If these cops don't find anything this time, the Yellow House folks are probably going to have a basis for a lawsuit, I would think. Either they are "bad" or the cops are really, really screwing up.
The plot thickens!
mommaeffortx2 (anonymous) says…
the plot thickens.
nekansan (anonymous) says…
Federal search warrant & Postal Inspectors. This means several things. Federal case, probable cause & big trouble for Yellow House. Uuuhhhh, still think the LPD are screwing up? Apparently a federal judge disagrees. Sounds to me like these people are full of it and just trying to direct attention away from themselves. Time will tell. And as I remember, the LJWs own article said the FBI never investigated and that there wasn't even a formal complaint regarding the LPD's alleged impersonation of FBI agents, just some wacky felon and a PI releasing a statement to the press. What are the facts here LJW?
touringdriver (anonymous) says…
all good things come must to an end.
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
"Either they are "bad" or the cops are really, really screwing up." Dad
How about both.
tuck1203 (anonymous) says…
My son's car was broken into a couple month's ago while it was parked in the garage, and numerous items stolen including a radar detector and cds, cd player, etc. He decided a week or so later to check Yellow House to see if his stuff might have been sold to them. Sure enough, he saw his radar detector in there and asked the clerk on duty the name of the person who sold it to them and they told him they wouldn't give him that information. He showed them the box it came in and everything. They offered to let him buy it back for $40.00. My son had suspect info about who broke into his car, and is why he wanted to know who sold it to them.
BlackVelvet (anonymous) says…
I remember going into Yellow House one time and saw a complete official KU Band Uniform hanging from the shelves. I really doubt KU sells those uniforms
75x55 (anonymous) says…
Interesting. This will be the summer news item to follow - wonder how it will play out what with rash of burglaries and car break-ins that have been going on for some time now. All that stuff has to be going somewhere...
ljreader (anonymous) says…
Time for a poem.
monkeywrench1969 (anonymous) says…
My question is with all the bad press the LJW and the Yellow House Folks have been giving the investigation and how they accusations have been negative toward the police...why is this new development not on the "Breaking news" front page of the web site rather than hidden in the local news section.
Since the feds were really observed involved this time...maybe the local cops were right.
LJW likes to stir the this negative press to sell papers but then hides the things that will cause them to get egg on their face because they backed the bad guys.
Same thing with Dale McCormick "the police watch dog" and Brian Charles "the burglar sex offender." Both got tons of coverage when they were claiming police corruption and then their convictions were hidden in tiny blurbs. McCormick found guilty by 12 and Charles Plead to his crimes.
conservative (anonymous) says…
monkeywrench, not that I disagree with you about the LJW bias. But in their defense, it is in the breaking news section.
OldEnuf2BYurDad (anonymous) says…
It seems strange to me. Let's assume for a minute that the owners of the business are crooks. After all the stuff they've been through, they didn't clean up their act? I mean, its hard to believe that their past brushes with the law wouldn't have put them on the straight and narrow.
I wonder if they aren't just "sloppy"? Maybe they've been duped into buying stolen stuff without knowing if it was or wasn't stolen. It's "inconceiveable!" (my second Princess Bride reference this week) that they would put themselves in so much trouble when they should be fully aware that they are being watched. So, is it:
Sloppy?
Naive?
or, Criminal?
GuardChica (anonymous) says…
The KU Band sold the old uniforms (pre-2004) to raise money for new uniforms and stipends for band members. Now if it's one of our nice, new uniforms, we have problems.
wysiwyg69 (anonymous) says…
are these people from topeka????????????????
Confrontation (anonymous) says…
Where's Mrs. Swain (a.k.a. Insider) with her comments?
monkeywrench1969 (anonymous) says…
Conservative
At the time of my post it was not in the breaking news section. It was added to breaking news after my post.
Where it the LJW getting their info from...I would say the Yellow House folks and their attorney...
OldEnuf2BYurDad (anonymous) says…
" well known by a portion of the homeless population as a place that will buy stolen bikes"
I did NOT know that! The plot DOES start to thicken! "A Schwinn for a rock."
Too bad. That's where I buy parts for my hooptie of a dryer. I guess I'll have to fence them... er, BUY them somewhere else.
mommaeffortx2 (anonymous) says…
leave it to the courts people, we are the on lookers with out all the facts.
jackie (anonymous) says…
Or maybe the Postal Service (the reason for the Federal Warrant) and the LPD are really bored and begging for something to do and don't want to lose face (respectively) by this ongoing investigation that is costing lots of money and therefore have decided to pull out law enforcement's old trick of harass and intimidate.
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
"leave it to the courts people, we are the on lookers with out all the facts." momma
Come on, momma. You know that's not how we do things around here.
mommaeffortx2 (anonymous) says…
I can always try:)
mommaeffortx2 (anonymous) says…
besides this story is really getting old and boring.
OldEnuf2BYurDad (anonymous) says…
"this story is really getting old and boring"
But now there are POSTAL investigators involved. "Law and Order: PIU (Postal Investigation Unit)"
"The most heinous mail and postage-related crimes are sent to the PIU. These are their stories. [dong dong]"
mommaeffortx2 (anonymous) says…
nice one.
reginafliangie (anonymous) says…
love that sound!
75x55 (anonymous) says…
Oldenuff - maybe it's the SNAKES, eating their BRAins.
GSWtotheheart (anonymous) says…
sings
so you had a bad day
monkeywrench1969 (anonymous) says…
My question is you have to have more than a hunch to get a search warrant to search something. From the LJW stories, the local police have gotten two and the Feds now have one for the Yellow House.
As far as the cops trumping up facts to get a warrant, the locals had a guy canned for that...see the Peck mess...so why try the same thing.
princess (anonymous) says…
Nah, 75x55...it's just Snakes on a Plane.
reginafliangie (anonymous) says…
Exactly monkeywrench! I know we should assume innocent until proven guilty. But lets just say, for fun, that the cops hadn't done some invesitgating and people found their stolen merchandise at this or any other pawn type shop. They would be screaming for cops to do something about it and uphold the law. Well, this time they (cops) were one up on the Yellow House and did an investigation and low and behold found some questionable practices and did their job and followed through and they get rammed for it, on previous posts.
Lets see what the outcome of this investigation is before we start protecting the Yellow House and pointing fingers at the cops. Obviously there is something wrong with this whole thing to make them look at Yellow House in the first place.
conservative (anonymous) says…
GSW, gotta love the Dresden Dolls. :D
monkeywrench1969 (anonymous) says…
Enforcer,
Just because the charges are not filed yet does not mean a crime was not committed. Ask all the victims of burglaries, robberies and rapes who were victimized and the identity of the suspects has not been made a year after the fact. Did the crimes not occur... The cops have a statute of limitations to work with...they can arrest at the time of the crime or the last day before the statute of limitations runs out to make an arrest.
I would assume a fencing operation (if my memory serves me from watching Starsky and Hutch) inovles lots of records of transactions and other forms of records you have to research and clarify to make a case. I would hope if the cops in their last search warrant in Dec had collected stolen property and records they would continue their research into the transactions by contacting hte people who brought the property in and interview them about what was said and where the property came from before they use it against the Yellow House Syndicate. I don't remember how much was taken last time but I bet a lot needed to be followed up so they di dnot "rush to judgement."
By the way unless we live in another country all death row inmates are found guilty by a jury of 12 or plead to the crime they commited so I would say they are "technically" guilty of a crime under our current system of law.
And I do attend the city commision meetings.
Yeoman2 (anonymous) says…
I have been as tough on the LPD as anyone, at least one rogue officer who I know to be a documented violator of consitiutional rights and a damned bully, but what would you think if you found your TV or stereo or microwave oven for sale at this business? Not a police officers are as vicious as that one, and most are doing their jobs to protect us. As far as the Federal warrants, that is pretty heavy stuff and perhaps the LPD was on top of it. Ya think? (Thought you's never hear this from me, eh??????)
Yeoman2 (anonymous) says…
Scuse me, correction...."not ALL police officers are as....."
monkeywrench1969 (anonymous) says…
Frwent
My feet are cold...what's going on in Hell
jimincountry (anonymous) says…
Another opportunity for the ACLU to come to the rescue..........but for whom, the police or their perps? I'm thinking LPD are the good guys!
mommaeffortx2 (anonymous) says…
old and boring like i said
brujablanco (anonymous) says…
I, too, attend EVERY commission meeting. Some here just have issues with our judicial system. I am sure they have justification for their search warrants.
OldEnuf2BYurDad (anonymous) says…
I lost my virginity in 1987. I bet Yellow House has it on a shelf somewhere. I'm going down there, and I'm going to get it BACK!
Alfred_W (anonymous) says…
Anybody here remember the movie "Hot Stuff", with Jerry Reid, Suzanne Pleshette, and Dom DeLuise?
Goofball 70s comedy about undercover cops posing as a fencing operation. Not real good, but good enough to kill a couple hours if you see it somewhere.
mommaeffortx2 (anonymous) says…
need facts people facts
old_man (anonymous) says…
I wonder if that mountain lion escaped from the Yellow house!
OldEnuf2BYurDad (anonymous) says…
FACT: Virginity lost and unaccounted for.
FACT: "Lost" items have been showing up at Yellow House.
From there, the trail goes dead. I need to hire Harry O.
mommaeffortx2 (anonymous) says…
still old and boring they need new stuff in ljw
monkeywrench1969 (anonymous) says…
Momma
Where do you expect to see the "facts"... The LJW...They have been whipping one side of this series of events for months...printing interviews with the Yellow House folks about how it is a conspiracy to keep the man down...Do you think they are going to print all of the facts...
The last paragraph was the PD was under scrutiny by the FBI but in a previous story the FBI says no one has made a formal complaint inthe investigation. WHose side do you think they are on. Are the interviews with the Yellow House people "truly the facts."
The only way you are going to get the facts is to attend the trial
mommaeffortx2 (anonymous) says…
never from the ljw I do not even expect something new from the ljw just same old boring stories they never let go of.
monkeywrench1969 (anonymous) says…
Is this really old and boring or are some afraid they championed the wrong side because they automatically take the side of the criminal because the believe "all cops" are corrupt.
mommaeffortx2 (anonymous) says…
no trial yet people we have to wait until ljw finds a new story to never let die.
monkeywrench1969 (anonymous) says…
macon
you are probably right about that...the facts they let in are at the mercy of the judge overseeing the trial
monkeywrench1969 (anonymous) says…
My guess is they will probably not cover the trial because they will have to print the facts.
there was all kinds of coverage of the "police misconduct" against Charles and McCormick prior to trial but when they were found guilty and plead they were little blurbs in the back.
It needs to be on front page so the truth about the Yellow House.
srj (anonymous) says…
Why in the world, after you are being watched like they are, even buy/sell stuff they you might even suspect is stolen?
And the U.S. Postal Service inspector means the stolen stuff was trafficed thru the mail.
All is subjuect to the courts, but after all they been through, why stay in business?
JimmyJoeBob (anonymous) says…
It all makes sense now. The feds are notorious for running investigations for months and years prior to filing charges. They probably wanted to give the Neighbors as much rope as they wanted to hang themselves. Maybe if they have continued to buy stolen property and it can be proven it will fall undet the RICO statute . I will wait to see what happens but this doesn't sound good now. If they did this through the mail that is serious time. Hope Ms. Swain has some federal court experience.
reginafliangie (anonymous) says…
Alfred, Loved that movie! Classic!
JimmyJoe, I said that last time this subject came up, amazingly I was about the only one thinking that, every body else seemed to be defending the Yellow House and knocking the LPD, now the tables have turned. Funny how that happens.
JimmyJoeBob (anonymous) says…
Does anyone know how much experience she has. It seems to me so far all she has done is run a PR campaign.
reginafliangie (anonymous) says…
I never heard of her before this. But during the last blog on this situation, several people were talking like she was a fire ball.
BorderRat (anonymous) says…
Tuck, I gotta go with Marion on this one. If I walked in a store and found an item that had been stolen from me, I'd have the item in one hand and dialing 911 with the other. If it wasn't reported, you just consented to be a volunteer victim.
ljreader (anonymous) says…
maybe tuck got eaten by the mountain lion.
TJ_in_Lawrence (anonymous) says…
I love the Lawrence Police Dept and yet, I am amazed at those of you who assume that the Yellow House folks are guilty. They are not guilty of anything, because they haven't been charged with anything.
I am equally amazed at the number of folks who know so much about the criminal activity in Lawrence. I've lived here all my life, bought and sold merchandise at Yellow House, and can't honestly say that I have ever seen anything suspicious there at all.
I may be surprised when real charges are filed, if they are filed.
mutpuppy (anonymous) says…
my question is what do they think they will find now that they didn't find the first time? If everything was done right the first time why do they have to serve another search warrant? They already took all their stuff and records and then gave it back and now they took their records and stuff again? I'd like to know much much money this whole ordeal is costing the city...These people couldn't possibly be doing THAT much business anyway!
im sorry but high roller fencers don't live in an average house and drive average cars...
Maybe the FBI and the local police should be focusing their attention where it matters more on the drug problem in lawrence and the increasing amount of crime from young adults
Wilbur_Nether (anonymous) says…
kujeeper suggested: "Posted by kujeeper (anonymous) on July 7, 2006 at 11:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There's is a chance a person could be targeted by a local law enforcement agency, not just in Lawrence, but in any town. However, if you have the FBI and the postal inspector show up, you're probably giving them a real good reason.... Everyone in town knows these people are crooks and run a shady operation. Lock them up!"
Fortunately for all of us, and there are several on this board who don't realize how fortunate they are for this the presence of federales does not shift the presumption of innocence from the accused. Which reminds me, that Marion went a real long way around the bush to get to the point that "The Neighbors' are innocent until proven guilty." Which is about the only thing I found relevant in his rant.
Wilbur_Nether (anonymous) says…
??????