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Santa Fe police arrested two men accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of paintings before trying to sell them back to the owner.
Scott Chambers
Ian Marlin, 32, and Scott Chambers, 39, are each charged with conspiracy and receiving or transferring stolen property worth over $20,000.
Marlin, who allegedly tried to flee the sting operation on a stolen bike, is also charged with receiving stolen property over $5,000, extortion, resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, and drug possession.
Ian Marlin
It is unclear if either man has an attorney.
Chambers has no arrests in the past two decades, but Marlin’s criminal history includes several arrests for charges related to burglary, larceny, drug possession, auto theft and criminal damage to property, according to court records. All of the past cases ended in a dismissal.
Children’s book writer and illustrator Gianna Marino made a public plea earlier this month when the penguin paintings were stolen, searching pawn shops and even offering a reward in the newspaper.
“I never thought I would see them again – I’m thrilled,” Marino told the Journal Friday. She said about six months of work went into the stolen paintings, one of which is still missing. Marino has published 16 books and said these latest illustrations are for an upcoming book on emperor penguins dedicated to her late mother.
She first filed a police report on April 3 that 20 paintings worth $30,000 had been stolen from her car. On April 27, Marina received a text message from someone saying they had bought the stolen art by mistake and would return it for a reward she posted in the paper, according to a criminal complaint filed in Magistrate Court.
“If you involve the police I’ll surely not give you this opportunity,” the message read, according to police. “… I’m just trying to do what’s right and what I hope someone would do for me.”
Court records state the person offered to meet at Fort Marcy Park on Wednesday and police set up the sting operation: “Canvass Recovery.” Marlin and Chambers showed up around 4 pm at the meeting spot and police moved in to arrest them.
Chambers was arrested and found to be holding a plastic bag with the paintings inside, according to police. Marlin fled on a mountain bike, but was arrested soon after.
Police said Chambers told them “he didn’t do anything” and was carrying the paintings for Marlin, a high school friend. Marlin refused to speak to officers.
Court records state police found methamphetamine and fentanyl pills in Marlin’s pocket and discovered the $1,000 bike he was riding had been stolen the day before.
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