(a)Every person who is a dealer in or collector of junk, metals, or secondhand materials, or the agent, employee, or representative of such dealer or collector, and who buys or receives any wire, cable, copper, lead, solder, mercury, iron, or brass which they know or reasonably should know is ordinarily used by or ordinarily belongs to a railroad or other transportation, telephone, telegraph, gas, water, or electric light company, or a county, city, city and county, or other political subdivision of this state engaged in furnishing public utility service, without using due diligence to ascertain that the person selling or delivering the same has a legal right to do so, is guilty of criminally receiving that property, and shall be punished by a
fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b)Any person who buys or receives material pursuant to subdivision (a) shall obtain evidence of their identity from the seller, including, but not limited to, that person’s full name, signature, address, driver’s license number, and vehicle license number, and the license number of the vehicle delivering the material.
(c)The record of the transaction shall include an appropriate description of the material purchased and the record shall be maintained
pursuant to Section 21607 of the Business and Professions Code.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
7
cases (
1 in the last 5 years), 1989–2026 · leading case:
TOSI v. Cnty. of Fresno, 74 Cal. Rptr. 3d 727 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008).
TOSI v. Cnty. of Fresno, 74 Cal. Rptr. 3d 727 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008).
· cites it 2× “" Violation is punishable as a felony or a misdemeanor. (Pen.Code, § 496a, subd.”
People v. Martin, 86 A.L.R. 4th 383 (Cal. Ct. App. 1989).
“5, the Legislature intended to impose criminal liability upon those who reasonably should have known they were transporting or disposing of hazardous waste at an unpermitted facility, without requiring gross negligence or recklessness.”
Tosi v. Cnty. of Fresno, 161 Cal. App. 4th 799 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008).
· cites it 2× “Penal Code section 496a also makes it a crime for a dealer in junk to buy certain metals typically used by railroads and public utilities without first “using due diligence to ascertain that the person selling or delivering the same has a legal right to do so.”
Deang, 27 I. & N. Dec. 57 (2017).
“, Cal. Penal Code § 496a (relating to “dealer[s] in or collector[s] of junk, metals, or secondhand materials”); Ind.”
Alco Iron & Metal Co. v. Am. Int'l Specialty Lines Ins., 911 F. Supp. 2d 844 (N.D. Cal. 2012).
“On or about June 24, 2010, Caicos filed a first amended complaint (1AC), adding two causes of action against Aleo for negligence and negligence per se under California Penal Code section 496a. CRJN ¶ 2, Ex.”
People v. Rodriguez CA5 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016).
“) On October 1, 2014, defendant pled to attempted receiving stolen metals by a junk or secondhand dealer, a felony (Pen. Code, § 496a, subd. (a)),1 and he admitted a prior strike conviction (§§ 667, subds.”
California Attorney Gen. Opinion 25-902 (Cal. Att'y Gen. 2026).
“(recordkeeping and reporting requirements for dealers trading in scrap copper wire); • Business and Professions Code section 21609 (peace officer having probable cause may place 90-day hold on property in possession of scrap dealer); • Penal Code section 496a (scrap dealer to…”
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