COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — An Ohio lawmaker is seeking to increase criminal penalties for coordinated retail theft, months after a separate law took effect targeting organized retail crime across the state.
Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Township) introduced House Bill 615 in November. The measure, dubbed the “Retail Theft Prevention Act,” would create new felony offenses for people who act together to steal merchandise valued at $1,000 or more from one or more retail establishments.
The proposal builds on House Bill 336, the “Fight Organized Retail Crime and Empower Law Enforcement Act,” which went into effect last April. That law created a standalone felony offense of organized retail theft and established a statewide task force under the Ohio attorney general’s office to investigate such crimes.
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During H.B. 615’s first House Small Business Committee hearing on Feb. 17, Williams said his measure is intended to address what he described as a gap in state law that does not adequately distinguish between individual shoplifting and coordinated theft operations involving multiple participants acting at once. Watch a previous NBC4 report on organized crime rings’ effects on central Ohio in the video player above.…