Lawyers meet over Layton gift-shop raid

FARMINGTON — A deal may be in the works between Davis County prosecutors and a novelty gift shop raided by police over sexually explicit items.

A lawyer for New Jersey-based Spencer Gifts, LLC, met for about two hours Monday with Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings at his office here.

"We haven't resolved everything yet, but it was a productive meeting," Rawlings told the Deseret Morning News afterward. "I found Spencer Gifts to be cooperative. They want to do whatever they can to comply with the laws in Utah."

Rawlings declined to discuss details of the meeting, but said the two sides would meet again in the coming weeks to reach some kind of final agreement. The attorney for Spencer Gifts did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Monday.

The meeting follows a Feb. 12 raid by Layton police at the Spencer Gifts shop inside the Layton Hills Mall. Police seized approximately 15 boxes of items they said were sexually explicit and potentially violate Utah's laws on dealing materials harmful to a minor.

Layton police said none of the seized items are necessarily illegal, but may have violated the state statutes by having them available for purchase and display to minors. Officers have described them as games, food items and other things that could be termed "sex toys."

Rawlings said Spencer Gifts is not admitting it violated any laws, but expressed a willingness to be in full compliance with state statutes. Any agreement between prosecutors and the store could include the controversial items being moved to keep them out of minors' view.

"Their attitude was cooperative," Rawlings said. "They want to be good members of the business community."

Rawlings said he was pleased with the meeting, but has not made a decision about whether to file criminal charges in the case.

"When it comes to criminal charges, we're still deferring that decision to see how serious they are about compliance," he said.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com