Police arrested an 18-year-old Maplewood man Saturday in Chisago County as he returned the statue of a Vietnam-era soldier taken from the front porch of a rural store near Rush Lake, about 40 miles north of the metro area.
Sheriff Brandon Thyen said in a press release that the life-sized statue, locally known as “Handsome Gene,” was stolen from the porch of Rush Point Store around 3 a.m. Saturday. The movements of three young men were captured on surveillance video.
Before loading the statue into the back of an SUV and driving away, the suspects slapped the statue and toyed with it.
The Sheriff’s Office circulated the video with a message: “Someone must know these guys. Please share. And if you happen to be one of the idiots in this video… save yourself from going completely viral and give us a call.’’
With deputies in the area, one of the three suspects returned the statue to the property at about 11:20 a.m. Deputies quickly recognized the suspect and arrested him on suspicion of felony theft.
Thyen reported that deputies are confident they know the other two suspects, a 19-year-old man from St. Croix Falls, Wis., and an 18-year-old man from Staples, Minn.
In a social media post, the owner of Rush Point Store berated the alleged thieves for being disrespectful to military veterans. “Handsome Gene’’ was a gift to the store, representing the previous owner’s late father.
“These boys have absolutely no respect for personal property or our U.S. military,’’ the owner said in his post. “What an absolute disgrace.’’
