Jody Johnson is a 67-year-old emergency foster mom who takes in teenagers declared "at risk." She's a generous Scotts Valley woman who writes unusually well. The story she has to tell contains equal helpings of grief, pathos and outrage.


"She was in my home for all major holidays," Johnson told me by email. "I lent her money, gave her motherly advice and provided love and encouragement as she struggled to find her way. I thought she was going to classes at UCSC."

What Johnson didn't know was that the girl, now 20, was a heroin addict. To support her habit, she regularly stole Johnson's jewelry, including a wedding ring that belonged to her recently deceased husband. The young woman even took the credit card of Johnson's mother in January.

Finally, "sick with disappointment and grief," as she puts it, Johnson called Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies, who asked her to go to Santa Cruz Pawn to identify her jewelry. "All the inexpensive jewelry was there,'' she said. "The more expensive items were never recovered."

Jail time


Eventually, the thief did a couple of months in jail, and Johnson counted her losses at $15,000. But that wasn't the final insult. Johnson says that when she went back to Santa Cruz Pawn on Pacific Avenue, she had to pay $879 to retrieve the remainder of the inexpensive silver jewelry, based on weight.

"I know it wasn't worth that," she told me. "And I know they probably gave her much, much less. They knew I had been ripped off. I cried every time I came in."


But Johnson says deputies told her that once a pawnshop buys an item, it becomes the pawnshop's property. But, no surprise, there are nuances.

State rules


In cases where there is prosecution, Schneider said, it's up to the judge to say what happens. "There's a process that allows for the pawnbroker and victim to negotiate to allow the pawnbroker to be made whole," she said.


Did Johnson run into a clerk who didn't know the policy? Had too much time gone by? It's possible. If this piece can help right matters, I'll let you know. Otherwise, Johnson might indeed be right when she says, "I guess compassion takes a back seat to profit."
