Legislator wants gold buyers to hold items, notify police

Gang of thieves suspected in ort Wayne bank heist surge

FORT WAYNE | Police in Indiana's second-largest city say serial robbers may be behind a surge in robberies at banks and credit unions, including one in which employees were bound.

Fort Wayne has seen 15 bank and credit union robberies so far this year, or more than in the past four years combined.

Police say they don't know what's behind the rash of robberies and they're still piecing together information on the crimes.

But Fort Wayne Police Chief Rusty York tells the Journal Gazette  there's definitely evidence of serial robbers in the bank heists. He says there's "a proportionate number of events that we know are caused by the same individuals."

Legislator wants gold buyers to hold items, notify police

INDIANAPOLIS | Gold buyers could be forced to register with the state and operate from a fixed location under legislation being proposed by a southwestern Indiana lawmaker.

Democratic Rep. Gail Riecken of Evansville says she also wants to require gold buyers to hold goods for seven days and report their purchases to law enforcement officials.

Riecken tells the Indianapolis Business Journal she is pushing the bill at the urging of pawnbrokers and gold buyers amid concerns that the gold-buying industry has become a vehicle for jewelry thieves.

Cash-for-gold stores have multiplied in the last five years as gold prices have doubled. Police say the industry provides an easy outlet for stolen goods.