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Centuries-old Buddha statue snatched from Los Angeles art gallery in dark of night, authorities nab suspect
By Adam Sabes
Published September 27, 2023
A stolen Buddha statue worth $1.5 million stolen from a Los Angeles art gallery has been recovered, police announced Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Police Department announced Justin Livick, 44, was arrested Saturday and charged under suspicion of receiving stolen property from the Barakat Gallery, according to FOX 11.
It's still unclear who stole the statue during the early morning hours of Sept. 18 from the Barakat Gallery.
Jail records indicate Livick was booked into jail Saturday night and released early Sunday morning.
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A stolen Buddha statue worth $1.5 million stolen from a Los Angeles art gallery has been recovered, police announced Wednesday. (Barakat Gallery)
The statue was stolen at around 3:45 a.m. on Sept. 18, police said.
According to the Barakat Gallery, the statute is from Japan's Edo Period of 1603-1867.
Surveillance video indicates the suspect broke into the gallery's entrance through a driveway gate, using a dolly to transport the statue onto a truck in a timeframe of 25 minutes.
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Director of Barakat Gallery's Los Angeles location told theartnewspaper.com museum officials were "shocked" a lone thief stole the statue considering its weight.
"We're all very puzzled," Henderson told the website. "Obviously this is a high-valued piece, it's important, and aesthetically it's a very interesting and unique item. It's clearly a temple sculpture from that period, and the size and the execution make it a very rare item, so it's not something you'd find on the market, which means it's not something that could be resold easily."
"We're still trying to figure out what the motive was and what the thief thinks they're going to do with this piece," he said.
The statue contains an inscription, when translated reading "Produced by Tadazou Iinuma, first year of Shouho, Kanoe. Prayed for and requested by Ryozen, master of Shingon religious party, Dainichi-Nyorai, Yudo-no-San Temple, of the highest social class."
https://www.foxnews.com/us/centuries-old-buddha-statue-snatched-los-angeles-art-gallery-dark-night-authorities-nab-suspect