Republic Parking employee recovers photographs stolen from Ann Arbor Art Fair
A man who swiped three framed photographs from a booth at the Ann Arbor Art Fair early Wednesday morning dropped the pictures when a Republic Parking employee yelled at him in the Maynard Street parking structure, city police said.
The thief got away, but the photographs were returned to a booth in the 300 block of Thompson Street about 2:20 a.m., police spokeswoman Lt. Renee Bush said.
The art was stolen from a 63-year-old Illinois man who was getting his booth organized for the start of the fair. He wasn't aware anyone had taken the photographs, police said.
The parking employee got involved after he saw a man running through the structure carrying the pictures. He yelled at the man and chased him. The man dropped the photographs in a stairwell, hopped a railing and ran away, police said.
The pictures, valued at $600, were in good shape, with the exception of a mark on one of the frames, Bush said. The thief was described as white, 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and in his mid-20s. He had short, dark hair and was clean-shaven.
Anyone with information can call the police department's tip line at (734) 794-6939.
Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
loves_fall
Fri, Jul 22, 2011 : 11:04 a.m.
Now if only Republic/McKinley would refund the $40 they STILL owe me for my parking tag deposit from about five years ago, we'd be all set. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to have the same zeal in returning that to the rightful owner.
1bit
Fri, Jul 22, 2011 : 1:50 a.m.
Lee: 2:20 am or 2:20pm?
KMHall
Thu, Jul 21, 2011 : 11:25 p.m.
Perhaps he was inspired by the Picasso their in broad daylight who then hailed a cab in San Fran.
Angry Redneck
Thu, Jul 21, 2011 : 11:11 p.m.
They took my pictuuuuuuures!
rcastentman
Thu, Jul 21, 2011 : 9:48 p.m.
I hope Republic Parking doesn't have a "policy" against employees involving themselves in stopping a crime. Didn't a Whole Foods employee get fired over doing the right thing? Kudos to the unnamed person who did the right thing!
Susan Montgomery
Fri, Jul 22, 2011 : 12:16 a.m.
yup <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2007/12/grocery_worker_fired_for_stopp.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2007/12/grocery_worker_fired_for_stopp.html</a>
theChamp!
Thu, Jul 21, 2011 : 9:20 p.m.
Well it is good to see that the RPS employees are in it to win it. Good job whoever you are. Way to go above and beyond the call of duty. To bad your employer doesn't feel the same way about you. I've heard many a horror stories from the employees about the pepole that run the company of RPS and well kudos to you unnamed employee. You're a real rose in concrete.
Cash
Thu, Jul 21, 2011 : 8:50 p.m.
Well? WHO was that employee? That person deserves a ton of credit here....it would be nice to at least mention his name.
drut_ferguson
Thu, Jul 21, 2011 : 7:45 p.m.
They should be able to find this perp in no time at all. I mean, that description can't fit more than 40-50% of the men in Ann Arbor...
Jimmy McNulty
Fri, Jul 22, 2011 : 1:10 p.m.
Drut, what happened to Turd?
smokeblwr
Thu, Jul 21, 2011 : 7:49 p.m.
But was he wearing thick-rimmed glasses, riding a single gear bike, and drinking PBR? That would fit a lot of "men" I see downtown.
quetzalcoatl
Thu, Jul 21, 2011 : 7:29 p.m.
If we round up every white male beween 19 and 39 who stands between 5 foot 6 and 6 foot 5 and who is clean shaven, why, somewhere in that snarling, unruly mob will be our perpetrators. Will the university let the Big House be used as, well, a Big House while we sort through them? Probably reduce aggressive panhandling quite a bit, too, especially if we loosen the standards on clean shaven.
nickcarraweigh
Thu, Jul 21, 2011 : 7:23 p.m.
Those frames must really be something special to make three photos worth $600. Too bad one of them got a mark.
mrshicks2000
Thu, Jul 21, 2011 : 7:20 p.m.
He sounds like the same guy running around attacking all the women...same description. Interesting....
mstairs
Thu, Jul 21, 2011 : 7:14 p.m.
Good job RPS. They do not get the appreciation they deserve. Who said there is no glory in parking?