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Police search for alleged art thief who got away with $21K sculpture by putting it in pants

By Averi Kremposky

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    ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (WESH) — Detectives in Florida are looking for an alleged art thief after surveillance footage shows a man walking into a gallery and leaving with a $21,000 sculpture in his pants.

According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, two men entered the Duncan McClellan Gallery on Nov. 11, 2024, just before 2:30 p.m.

Surveillance footage shows the two men ascending the stairs to the gallery before another shot shows one of them reaching up into a display, grabbing a glass sculpture, then turning around to stick it in his pants.

Police say the second suspect was distracting a sales associate while this went on.

The two men left, and gallery staff later notice the cast glass sculpture titled “Torso XI” by Latchezar Boyadjiev was missing.

One of the men involved, 45-year-old Willie Wilson, was arrested by St. Petersburg police on Jan. 7. He is facing charges of principal to grand theft greater than $20,000 but less than $100,000 for his involvement.

The man who took the art piece is still at large, police say. He was last seen wearing an oversized blue T-shirt, baggy blue jeans, a baseball cap and sneakers. In the video, he can be seen carrying a dark-colored shoulder bag with a long strap around his neck.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call St. Petersburg police at 727-893-7780 or text SPPD + your tip to TIP411.

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