Mega Bad Karma

[qualtrough]

Metal thieves picked the wrong statue

The 7-foot statue of Buddha, covered in copper-laden bronze, looked like a scavenger's gold mine.

By Chris Havens, Star Tribune

Last update: September 01, 2007 – 6:49 PM

The 7-foot statue of Buddha, covered in copper-laden bronze, looked like a scavenger's gold mine.

But it turned out to be more like fool's gold for the thieves and a jackpot for police.

The statue was swiped in the night from its place at a temple shrine in Elk River last week.

When parts of it surfaced at a scrap dealer on Friday, it didn't take long for police to make an arrest and find a stash of even more stolen goods and burglary equipment.

A 45-year-old Elk River woman was arrested Friday night, and a male family member is being looked at as another suspect in the theft, said Chief Jeff Beahen.

Police recovered the right shoulder and right hip of the statue that was the pride of the Thai Buddhist Center of Minnesota. Each piece weighs about 60 pounds, Beahen said.

The statue, valued at $10,000, was specially made in Thailand for the center.

"It's too bad," said Jay Cramer, a temple member. "The whole community is real sad. It's a sacred piece."

Cramer said there was some relief in knowing that the statue was stolen for money and not because of bigotry.

The bronze-coated, cast-iron statue of a standing Buddha was reported stolen on Wednesday. It was taken from an outside shrine, and no other damage was done to the property, Beahen said.

On Thursday, a detective issued a statewide alert to police and scrap dealers with a photo of the stolen statue.

Scrap metal is in high demand, and soaring prices are prompting thefts of all things metal: wire, aluminum siding, catalytic converters and even beer kegs.

On Aug. 1, a new law took effect in Minnesota requiring scrap dealers to keep detailed records of all transactions. Sellers must show state-issued IDs, and dealers must pay them with checks or electronic transfers and take pictures of them and their vehicles.

About 12:45 p.m. Friday, the detective got a call from a recycling company in Monticello, saying they had taken in two pieces of scrap they believed to be from the statue.

The police took the pieces, and with the help of the recycler were able to identify the woman.

"There are another 10 pieces or so, and I hope the other recycling companies are as diligent in talking with us," Beahen said.

Found along with the two Buddha pieces at the scrap yard was a catalytic converter that could be a match for one that was reported stolen the night before, Beahen said.

Elk River police found the woman and confronted her, but she was uncooperative, Beahen said.

So police got a warrant and searched the woman's property about 7:20 p.m. Friday. She was arrested then.

When police executed the search warrant, they recovered a "large number" of acetylene torches, battery-operated saws and other equipment often used to cut wire and metals. Beahen said some of the cutting equipment was stolen and could be traced back to burglaries that happened last year.

"Hundreds of thousands of feet" of sheathing that once covered copper wire lay in piles around the property, he said.

Police also found a stolen boat and trailer, as well as marijuana, Beahen said.

[tijnebijn]

maybe they should think about cementing the statues ?