In an unusual turn of events, a man in Florida attempted to reconcile with his ex-girlfriend by gifting her two crane statues. However, it was later revealed that the statues were not purchased but stolen from a front yard. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd shared this information in a video posted on Valentine’s Day, identifying the suspect as 33-year-old Anthony Lance Lewis.
The victim of the theft, as per an affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, discovered in late January that her two sandhill crane statues were missing. These statues, each worth around $150, were of significant sentimental value to the victim as they were gifts from her late husband. The theft was discovered when the victim noticed the statues missing from her yard one morning.
The local community was able to provide surveillance footage that showed a man on a bicycle in the Country Walk subdivision, where the victim resides. The footage captured the man stopping in front of the victim’s house, taking the two statues, and riding away.
On February 7, a detective conducting a neighborhood canvass found two similar crane statues in the front yard of a house on San Heath Road. The resident of the house, Lewis’s ex-girlfriend, informed the police that Lewis had brought the statues to her house about a week prior. She added that Lewis had delivered the statues in the middle of the night while riding a bike.
The woman told the investigator that she and Lewis were dating at the time and often had arguments. Lewis had allegedly told her that he had gotten the statues for her as a symbol of their relationship, as cranes are known to mate for life. She denied knowing that the statues were stolen and stated that she had received them as a gift.
Upon learning the truth about the statues, the woman was reportedly “mortified” and immediately handed them over to the police. The original owner was able to confirm that the statues were hers after being shown a photo of them in the ex-girlfriend’s front yard. The authorities subsequently returned the statues to the rightful owner.
Lewis is currently facing charges of felony petit theft and dealing in stolen property in relation to this incident. He had previously been arrested on February 1 on drug charges and for resisting/obstructing an officer without violence. Lewis’s criminal record includes 39 previous burglary and theft charges, with convictions for theft in 2011, 2013, and 2016.