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CEDAR CITY — A multistate investigation into stolen sports memorabilia and other collectibles has ties to southern Utah.
In March, three people were arrested by the Lyon County Sheriff's Office in Nevada for investigation of possession of stolen property and drug-related crimes. A search warrant was served at a residence in Fernley, Nevada, located about 35 miles outside of Reno, according to a statement from the sheriff's office.
"During the search warrant, detectives recovered over $200,000 of stolen property. The property had been reported stolen from multiple jurisdictions to include: Henderson, Nevada; Truckee, California; Scottsdale, Arizona; Cedar City, Utah; and Washoe County, Nevada. The stolen property included numerous items of sports memorabilia, collectible cards, artwork, and jewelry," the sheriff's office said.
Alexandra Curran, 29, and Evan Parker, 37, both of Fernley, and Dixie Vreeken, 39, of Reno, were taken into custody. At the time, the sheriff's office said it was still an ongoing investigation.
As police in Henderson, Nevada, were investigating a burglary of a storage unit in which several items of sports memorabilia were taken — including a signed Michael Jordan jersey — the owner of the jersey found what he believed was his stolen memorabilia being sold on eBay by a store in Cedar City, according to Cedar City police.
Officers went to the store and found a framed Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls jersey, two photographs of Jordan and a piece of a wood basketball court with "MJ's final floor" etched into it, according to court documents.
Police also recovered a bill of sale for the jersey with Parker's name on it, a search warrant affidavit states.
Officers later went back to the store when notified by police in Nevada that several Funko Pop collectibles had also been stolen along with a pair of boxing trunks and a robe signed by Muhammad Ali. Police say Parker sold Funko Pops to the Cedar City store. It was not known Wednesday if the Funko Pops allegedly sold by Parker in Cedar City were the ones stolen in Henderson.
Police in Utah have not questioned Parker, as he had already been taken into custody in Nevada by the time they were asked to investigate. As of Wednesday, no formal charges have been filed in Utah against any of the three.
Parker has a criminal history in Utah dating back to at least 2010, according to court records. He was charged in 4th District Court in Utah County in 2023 with forgery and theft by deception, for cashing a fraudulent savings bond, according to charging documents.
