Feb 13, 2008

Layton Police raid mall gift shop due to racy merchandiseBy McKay AllenABC4.com

Layton, Utah – It was a full blown raid as police searched a popular store in the Layton Hills Mall on Tuesday and left with evidence.

They took hundreds of items they say are sexually explicit and against the law because they were sold in the plain view of minors.

The store is Spencer’s Gift, a popular, national novelty gift shop. But the merchandise isn’t exactly tame and the store admits its edgy.

Some say the police are over-reacting, but the authorities say many items are too edgy to be in the plain sight of kids walking in and out.

“Over the last year, two years, we’ve received, at the Police Dept and at the City Attorneys, a number of complaints,” said Layton Police Sgt. Mark Chatlin.

So, detectives went to the mall and staked out Spencers to see if minors came and went and to see what materials they had access to. After several warnings, police served a search warrant and started pulling things off the shelves on Tuesday.

And Spencer’s didn’t just take a few things, they took literally hundreds of things, boxes and boxes of items they think are too inappropriate for young eyes to see.

Read complete article.