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Jessica Heeringa's mother: Security cameras required in bill would have prevented daughter's disappearance
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NORTON SHORES, MI – A proposed law named for Jessica Heeringa, a Norton Shores woman missing since April, will try to make work safer for clerks and attendants on lonely late shifts at gas-station convenience stores.
State Rep. Collene Lamonte, D-Montague, on Monday, Dec. 9 announced “Jessica’s Law.” The bill that would require convenience stores and gas stations operating between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. to schedule at least two workers on that shift, or install a security camera system recording attacks, robberies and other crimes affecting employees.
“I believe these measures go a long way to preventing the kind of anguish endured by her family,” Lamonte said.
Heeringa, 26, has been missing since April 26 after she was allegedly abducted about 11 p.m. while finishing her shift as a night clerk at the Sternberg Road Exxon gas station. She is still missing despite a massive search effort.
The gas station had no security cameras at the time of her disappearance, and the shortage of video footage has held back the investigation into her disappearance.
“I think if a security camera were in place, Jessica would still be here today,” said her mother, Shelly Heeringa. But Jessica’s family – including a fiancé and 3-year-old son -- can’t escape the reality that she is gone.
“Our lives have stopped,” she said. “There’s still no Jessi. … I wake up thinking about her.”
Shelly Heeringa said the owner of the Exxon gas station has installed video cameras.
Lamonte made the announcement Monday morning from a parking lot next door to the gas station from which Heeringa disappeared.
Shelly Heeringa said the owner of the Exxon gas station has installed video cameras.
Besides Heeringa’s mother, Muskegon County Sheriff Dean Roesler, Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson and Lt. Jon Gale of the Norton Shores Police Department joined Lamonte at the press conference.
Hilson stressed the importance of surveillance video in conducting investigations and prosecuting crimes.
“We can ensure that those working, making an honest living in this industry, can feel safe,” he said.
Gale said that a second employee is a good crime deterrent as well.
“Having an additional witness, having that video footage … certainly makes a difference,” he said. “It’ll definitely keep individuals from wanting to prey on one individual.”
Lamonte, a Democrat, said she hoped to introduce the bill to the Republican-controlled Michigan House of Representatives on Tuesday, after opening up the bill to co-sponsorship from other legislators.
“I’m hopeful that we as legislators can move past the partisan politicking,” she said.
The bill would establish a civil fine of not more than $200 for each violation. A convenience store means any business that is primarily engaged in the retail sale of convenience goods and gasoline. Businesses excluded from the bill include hotels, taverns, restaurants, pharmacies, grocery stores, supermarkets or businesses that have more than 10,000 square feet of retail space. If made law, the bill would take effect Jan. 1, 2015.
Lamonte said she didn’t expect opposition from small businesses – many of whom she said were concerned by Heeringa’s disappearance.
“I think they’ll be happy to see we’re doing something,” she said.