2 arrested, 2 still at large in theft of 800-pound statue


1 photo
Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Two people were in custody and two others still at large Wednesday as Salt Lake police continued their investigation into a stolen 800-pound statue of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young sitting on a park bench.

The bronze statue, worth an estimated $125,000, was recovered Tuesday evening in West Jordan. William Ren Ford, 47, of Sandy, was arrested. The statue was found at his parents' house, according to a Salt Lake County Jail booking report.

Salt Lake police detective Greg Wilking said the homeowners were not at the residence, and it was unclear Wednesday whether Ford or anyone else was living there on a full-time basis.

A second man was arrested on outstanding warrants. As of Wednesday morning, Wilking said the man had not been arrested in connection with the statue theft and his name was not released.

The daylong search for the statue of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leaders began when four people in a white SUV hauling a flatbed trailer pulled up to the statue near the parking lot of the Northgate Business Park, 825 N. 300 West, just before 4 a.m. Tuesday and somehow managed to get it onto the trailer.

After business surveillance video of the SUV and trailer were released to the public, detectives received a tip on who might own the vehicle, Wilking said. Police went to a residence in West Jordan, where the trailer was found, he said.

After contacting the homeowners on the phone, they gave permission for investigators to search the residence. The statue was found unharmed in the garage, Wilking said. Police do not believe the homeowners knew it was there.

Related:

Details on Ford's arrest were not immediately released. Detectives were still looking Wednesday for a man and woman, only identified as Larry and Traci, who might live in the area near West High School and 200 North, Wilking said.

A motive for the theft was not known Wednesday, though investigators suspected the group intended to cut up the statue and sell it at a scrap metal yard. Detectives planned to interview Ford and the other man arrested again Wednesday to try to answer some of their questions, including how they managed to get the heavy statue onto the trailer.

The statue was commissioned by the Young Fine Arts Studio, with plans to be sent to Nauvoo, Illinois.

State court records show Ford has a lengthy history of mostly theft- and shoplifting-related charges, most recently pleading guilty to shoplifting in April. He was also convicted of shoplifting or attempted shoplifting in 2015, 2013 and 2012, according to court records.

Ford was charged in January with forgery and theft by deception, court records state. A preliminary hearing in that case is scheduled for June 9.

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Pat Reavy

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast