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Sale at County Jail has been postponed

A judge of the Circuit Court issued a stay of execution Friday forcing postponement of the large sale of furniture that was to take place today on the parking lot of the St. Francois County Jail.

Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Pratte issued the order Friday afternoon, after granting parties in the civil case more time to present evidence concerning ownership of the merchandise that was scheduled to be sold today. His action came during a hearing in which some attorneys indicated they had more evidence they wanted the court to consider.

The auction of furniture was scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. and continue until more than 900 pieces of furniture and home appliances were sold. All of the items were seized by the Sheriff’s Department earlier this month from a furniture store in Park Hills under a replevin order issued by the court.

Sheriff Dan Bullock said the sale has not been canceled, only postponed. He said another date for the auction will be announced as soon as the court comes down with a new order.

This would have been the largest sale of merchandise Bullock has conducted in his 12 years as sheriff. He said the furniture and appliances have a total retail value of approximately $460,000.

The sheriff said he understands that the judge was told Friday that some of the furniture seized did not belong to the store, but had been placed there by manufacturers under consignment. The lawyers contend that the furniture placed under consignment could not be sold to satisfy the judgment against the merchant from other suppliers.

Until they get all of this worked out to the satisfaction of the judge, Bullock said, “we cannot proceed with the sale.”

At this time, all of the furniture and appliances remain stored in six large, locked trailers on the parking lot of the jail at Farmington. They are under constant surveillance by the jail staff by means of video cameras that are trained on the parking lot.

Bullock said that when his department served the replevin order, professional movers were hired to remove the merchandise from the store and place it in the trailers. A member of the Sheriff’s Department who participated in the seizure said items were wrapped in packing blankets to protect them from damage while in transport and storage.

The sheriff said all of the items are brand new and in the same condition they were in when on display in the store. He said that when the sale does occur, everything is sold “as is” and that there can be no returns and there are no guarantees.

Professional auctioneers Tooter Gower and Jerry Hulsey have been hired to conduct the auction, Bullock said. All items will be sold individually and not in lots, with the exception of those pieces of furniture that come in sets – such as living room suites and bed room suites.

It will be a “cash and carry” sale and credit cards cannot be accepted. The buyers will be responsible for loading and hauling away the items they purchase. There is no delivery service provided by the Sheriff’s Department.

All the costs of seizure of the items, their storage, and the costs of conducting the sale will be deducted from the gross receipts of the sale. That will include the fee that is set by statute for the Sheriff’s Department. The remainder of the receipts will then be used to satisfy court judgments in civil cases against the store.

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