Sale Of Stolen Cell Phones Targeted By D.C. Councilman Wells

D.C. Council member Tommy Wells is expected to propose a bill during tomorrow's legislative session that would give the mayor temporary authority to shut down any stores found to be selling stolen cell phones.

Wells, who became chair of the Committee on Public Safety this year, wrote on Twitter earlier this month that, according to police, several video game stores were found to have hundreds of used cell phones, all likely stolen from D.C. residents.

The stores denied the allegations.

The proposal, meanwhile, represents D.C.'s latest attempt to crack down on stolen cell phones.

Last year, D.C.'s Police Chief Cathy Lanier helped lead a national campaign to convince cell phone companies to let customers brick their phones if stolen, making them essentially useless and thus less valuable to thieves.