An idea born out of a mom's desperation

I'm a nobody," Jacqueline Selva said this week. "I'm a nobody," she repeated, in a voice without doubt. "It's incredible to me that this is happening."

Last week, Selva, who lives in Bay Shore, testified before the Suffolk County Legislature in support of a measure that grew out of her idea - an idea born of desperation and desire.

Selva says her 18-year-old son is a heroin addict. He's tried treatment and succeeded for a time. He would fight and fight but fall back in. At one point, he took Selva's jewelry to local pawnshops and sold it. Among the items was a gold necklace, a gift from Selva's mother, now deceased; and a favorite charm bracelet with animals and Noah's ark.

There came a time when he told Selva what he'd done, what he felt he had to do, to get quick money for heroin. Selva, like so many other Long Island parents stunned to find themselves in the same situation, went off in search of her memories. And to find out why pawnshops would willingly take heavy, expensive jewelry from teenagers.

Her first stop was a pawnshop where employees were nasty. Her second was a shop where the owner came from behind the counter to help her. Her third stop, she said, was to a place she never should have gone.

She went to the home of a man where her son had gone to exchange her jewelry for drugs, she said.

In one day, she paid almost $1,000 in cash to get her possessions back. "I was so angry and I was crying," she said. "I thought, nobody should have to go through this."

That's when she decided to contact public officials with the goal of trying to block teenage heroin addicts from trading jewelry at pawnshops.

She found a willing sponsor in Legis. Tom Barraga (R-West Islip), who introduced a measure to raise the minimum age to sell jewelry at pawnshops or gem exchanges to 21 from 18.

The measure was passed last week by a legislative committee, but not without considerable discussion, which is certain to continue when the measure comes up for a full vote of the legislature on Tuesday.

Legis. Rick Montano (D-Brentwood), the only lawmaker on the committee to vote against the measure, said he believed it will not accomplish its purpose. Legis. DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville), who voted yes last week, said he still has concerns.

So do some local coin and jewelry dealers.

"The measure will not accomplish what it is supposed to accomplish," said David Gordon, owner of Whitman Coins and Jewelry in Melville. "Kids who sell to pawnshops will still steal jewelry and sell it to a guy at the gas station or to somebody over 21, and owners will never see it again."

He has contacted Barraga with an alternative: Instead of raising the age, place a monetary limit on how much pawnshops can buy from 18- and 19- year-olds. "We keep records, and we help police," Gordon said. "If there's a pattern, it will show up, and the owner will have some chance of seeing their possessions again."

He said that most reputable local shops don't accept expensive jewelry from teenagers, anyway. "If it doesn't look right, we pass on it because it's not worth the trouble," he said, adding that pawnshops often lose money when stolen-property cases go to court.

Selva said she's willing to consider anything that will work. But she's adamant that no parent should ever have to repeat her experience.

"I didn't prepare in advance when I went before the legislature, I didn't prepare when I talked to the reporters, and on television, I talked from my heart," she said.

Still, when lawmakers gather for a final vote on the measure, she said, "I'll be ready."