AURORA | Shoplifters convicted of stealing $300 or more of merchandise from Aurora retail stores could soon face a three-day minimum jail sentence, under a proposal that City Council members are set to vote on Monday night.
The bill by Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky builds on mandatory minimum penalties for car theft that the council’s conservative majority voted to introduce earlier this year.
Jurinsky’s retail theft item was scheduled to be heard in late August but ultimately postponed at the request of Jurinsky, who said at the time that she wanted to create a “more comprehensive” ordinance with the help of police, business owners and the City Attorney’s office.
At a policy committee meeting last week, Jurinsky said she was bringing the ordinance back to the council without the unspecified provisions that she considered including in August, which deputy city attorney Pete Schulte said was the recommendation of the City Attorney’s Office.
During the committee meeting, Jurinsky said the three-day minimum sentence was chosen because the city jail, where defendants would be incarcerated, cannot hold suspects for more than 72 hours, though Schulte said habitual offenders would likely face longer sentences, which they would serve in another jail.
Schulte also said the $300 floor was designed to avoid locking up individuals stealing groceries and other necessities out of need, though Jurinsky said she was “open” to lowering the floor.
Also on Monday, the group may give final approval to allowing ducks in more residential neighborhoods, which they voted 9-1 to do in August.
Monday’s meeting will be the group’s first time together after a two-week break from regular meetings and study sessions. It is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. and will be in-person and open to the public as well as streamed through the city’s YouTube channel and broadcast on local television channels 8 and 880.