A Clatsop County man and three Bend residents have been arrested in connection with the theft of the statue of Sacagawea and her baby from Lewis and Clark National Historical Park near Astoria. The 5-1/2-foot bronze statue had been cut up into multiple pieces to sell for scrap and destroyed, Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin said.
Arrested for the theft are Marcus D. Bologna, 42 (DOB 03-01-65), of 1398 Fifer Heights Road in Gearhart, and James P. Storms, 44; John A. Kristiansen, 45 and Shawna D. Roberson, 42, of Bend.
Park Superintendent David Szymanski discovered the statute missing from Netul Landing at Fort Clatsop Jan. 20. It had been cut off from its mounting bolts sometime during the night. The sculpture was valued at $20,000, but probably only earned only about $200 from a scrap metal dealer. Metal thefts are a common practice to get fast money for illegal drugs.
Two days after the discovery of the theft, Bend police responded on Jan. 22 to a call from a scrap metal dealer about some suspicious metal it had just received, according to Detective Scott Vincent of the Bend Police Department. Responding officers were able to determine the metal was from the statue and contacted the Clatsop County Sheriff's Office to begin a joint investigation.
On Wednesday, the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office also learned someone had tried to sell the statue at a different scrap metal yard in Portland and continued with their investigation as well. With that tip, credible leads were developed and suspects were identified.
Around 2:20 p.m. Thursday, Bend police officers arrested Storms and, Kristiansen during a traffic stop without incident, Vincent said. Roberson was arrested a short time later, also without incident.
All three were lodged at the Deschutes County Jail. Roberson and Storms, both charged with first-degree aggravated theft by receiving, were released by Friday night, having posted $1,000 of their $10,000 bail, a jail officer said. Kristiansen remained in custody on $50,000 bail, facing charges of first-degree theft by receiving and drug (meth) possession.
As a result from these investigations and the cooperation from the metal scrap yards in both Portland and Bend, Bologna, a longtime Clatsop County resident, was identified as an additional suspect and the person involved with the original theft of the statue from Fort Clatsop. Information about Bologna and the vehicle he was driving was circulated among law enforcement early Sunday morning.
Around 1 p.m. Sunday, Clatsop County Detective Mike Shockey saw the suspect’s vehicle parked by a store in the Warrenton area. Shockey maintained surveillance on the vehicle until additional backup could respond from the Sheriff’s Office and Warrenton Police Department. Within minutes, the suspect exited the store and was taken into custody without incident.
Bologna was transported to the Clatsop County Jail and lodged on a probation violation for failing to report to his probation officer on a previous burglary conviction. His vehicle was towed as possible evidence. Bologna will be arraigned in Clatsop County Circuit Court on pending local charges pursuant to the District Attorney’s Office. Bologna may also face federal charges instead of state charges because the crime was committed at a national park.
The sculpture, created by a Battle Ground, Wash., artist and donated to the park for the 2004 bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was valued at $20,000, but probably only earned only about $200 as scrap metal. Metal thefts are a common practice to get fast money for illegal drugs, Sheriff Bergin said.
“I would like to remind all Clatsop County residents that metal theft is rampant not only here but throughout the United States due to the high number of drug-addicted people looking for quick cash to maintain their drug addictions,” Bergin said. “This type of theft was also responsible for our most recent 911 outage last week during which thieves who thought they were stealing metal cable cut the lines to find they were made of glass.
“These thefts cost us all immensely but with great cooperation from the scrap yards and you the local citizen we can help stop these thefts and destruction. Please be observant and vigilant wherever you might be and report all suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately.”
