[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Lexington by Ord. No. 97-10 (§ 15-76 of the 1970 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
This chapter is enacted to secure and promote the health, safety and general welfare of the inhabitants of the City.
B. 
It hereby is declared that the business of purchasing or otherwise dealing in antique, used or scrap jewelry and precious metals, where such purchases are for resale in their original form or are changed by remounting, melting, reforming, remodeling or recasting or for resale as scrap or in bulk, is a business affecting the public health, safety and general welfare.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
DEALER
Any person engaged in the business of purchasing secondhand precious metals or gems, removing in any manner precious metals or gems from manufactured articles not then owned by such person, or buying, acquiring or selling precious metals or gems removed from such manufactured articles. "Dealer" shall mean all employers and principals on whose behalf a purchase is made and any employee or agent who makes any such purchase for or on behalf of his employer or principal. This definition shall not be construed so as to include persons engaged in the following:
A. 
Purchases of precious metals or gems directly from other dealers, manufacturers or wholesalers for retail or wholesale inventories, provided that the selling dealer has complied with the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
Purchases of precious metals or gems from a duly qualified fiduciary who is disposing of the assets of an estate being administered by such fiduciary.
C. 
Acceptance by a retail merchant of trade-in merchandise previously sold by such merchant to the person presenting that merchandise for trade-in.
D. 
Repairing, restoring or designing jewelry by a retail merchant, if such activities are within his normal course of business.
E. 
Purchases of precious metals or gems by industrial refiners and manufacturers, insofar as such purchases are made directly from retail merchants, wholesalers, or dealers or by mail originating outside the state.
F. 
Persons regularly engaged in the business of purchasing and processing nonprecious scrap metals which incidentally may contain traces of precious metals recoverable as a by-product.
GEMS
Any item containing precious or semiprecious stones customarily used in jewelry.
PRECIOUS METALS
Any item, except coins, composed in whole or in part of gold, silver, platinum or platinum alloys.
It shall be unlawful for any dealer to purchase precious metals or gems or make loans for which precious metals or gems are received and held as security without first obtaining a permit from the Chief of Police or his designated agent as provided herein and without complying with all other provisions of this chapter. Possession of a permit in another jurisdiction shall not relieve a dealer of the obligation to obtain the permit required herein.
A. 
No person shall engage in the activities of a dealer without first obtaining a permit from the Chief of Police or his designated agent.
B. 
To obtain a permit, the dealer shall file with the Chief of Police an application form which shall include the dealer's full name and any aliases, address, age, sex, and fingerprints; the name, address and telephone number of the applicant's employer, if any; and the location of the dealer's place of business. Upon filing this application and the payment of an application fee of $200, the dealer shall be issued a permit by the Chief of Police or his designee, provided that the applicant has not been convicted of a felony or crime of moral turpitude within seven years prior to the date of application. The permit shall be denied if the applicant has been denied a permit or has had a permit revoked under any similar ordinance.
C. 
Before a permit may be issued, the dealer must have all weighing devices used in his business inspected and approved by the City or state weights and measures official and present written evidence of such approval to the Chief of Police.
D. 
The permit shall be valid for one year from the date issued and may be renewed in the same manner as such permit was initially obtained with an annual permit fee of $200.
E. 
If the business of the dealer is not operated without interruption, with Saturdays, Sundays and recognized holidays excepted, the dealer shall notify the Chief of Police of all closings and reopenings of such business. The business of a dealer shall be conducted only from the fixed and permanent location specified in his application for a permit.
F. 
Each dealer, at the time of obtaining such permit, shall enter into a recognizance to the City secured by a corporate surety authorized to do business in the state, in the penal sum of $10,000, conditioned upon due observance of the terms of this chapter. In lieu of a bond, a dealer may cause to be issued by a bank authorized to do business in the state a letter of credit in favor of the City in the amount of $10,000. A single bond or letter of credit may be written or issued to cover the employer or principal and all employees and all transactions occurring at a single location.
It shall be unlawful for any dealer to sell, exchange, barter or remove from the place from which such business is conducted or to change the form of any such items by remounting, melting, cutting, smashing or otherwise changing the form of any items purchased which fall within the definition of precious metals, gems and jewels for a minimum period of 10 days from the date and time of filing the daily report required under this chapter.
The dealer shall keep a log in duplicate upon which shall be entered a clear and accurate description of all items of precious metals, gems and jewels purchased, including, where applicable, the weight, serial numbers, names, initials, monograms or any other identification marks which appear on any such item, the date of purchase and the amount of money paid, and the name and complete residence address, age, sex, race and driver's license number or Social Security number of the seller. The seller and the dealer shall deliver to the Chief of Police a copy of the log of the previous day's business prior to 12:00 noon of the day following the date of such transaction. The log of the dealer shall be carefully preserved without alteration and shall be open at all times to the inspection of the Chief of Police and any police officer of the City, the Sheriff of the county, any member of the Sheriff's Department of the county, any member of the Virginia State Police, and any other properly identified police officer.
The dealer shall ascertain the name, address and age of each seller by requiring the seller to verify the same by some form of identification issued by a governmental agency which contains a picture or photograph of the seller and at least one corroborating means of identification. No purchase shall be made from any seller unable to verify identification as specified in this section.
No dealer shall purchase from or make a loan to any seller who is under the age of 18 years. No dealer shall purchase from or make a loan to any person whom the dealer believes or has reason to believe is not the owner of the items offered for sale or security.
Any person aggrieved by the dealer's violation of any of the provisions of this chapter who shall recover a final judgment against such dealer may maintain an action in his own name upon the bond and surety.
A. 
Any person convicted of violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor for the first offense. Upon conviction of any subsequent offense, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
B. 
Upon the first conviction by any court of a dealer of a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, the Chief of Police may revoke his permit to engage in business as a dealer under this chapter for a period of one full year from the date such conviction becomes final. Such revocation shall be mandatory upon a second conviction.
C. 
Punishment for Class 2 and Class 1 misdemeanors shall be as set forth in § 18.2-11 of the Code of Virginia.