The alarm spread in early September in the religious sphere of Valladolid: three pieces disappeared from two churches in just a few days. The archbishopric urged its communities and faithful to increase vigilance and precautions in case more cases occurred, which fortunately have begun to be clarified. The National Police arrested this Friday a thief of sacred art for stealing up to four ornamental elements from different temples in the city, one of them stolen in July and three others during this September. The agents found in the arrested person’s home, who was later released, the tools used for the thefts and the electric scooter with which he moved between the churches, although they have not been able to locate the pieces he took with him, and they are investigating whether he had accomplices.
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The police investigations allowed several agents to access the accused’s home, in the Arturo Eyries neighborhood. There they found the “objects used in the commission of the acts,” announced the National Police in a statement in which they charge him with crimes against historical heritage. “The investigated crimes are exceptional in the jurisdiction, as they involve the theft of sacred art works from inside churches, a type of criminal offense uncommon in the province,” the press release details, since Valladolid and its surroundings have a rich presence of ecclesiastical artistic pieces, not always with the best security conditions. The agents suspected that the possible author of these thefts could be a single person because the thefts occurred in a short period of time.
The actions attributed to this man indicate that on July 21 “the theft of a polychrome wooden carving representing a 19th-century angel” was reported, stolen on the afternoon of July 20 from the church of San Felipe Neri. Later, “on September 10 the disappearance of a polychrome wooden carving in gold color, representing an angel with a trumpet, dated to the late 17th century, stolen during the afternoon of the same day,” was reported, this time in the also central Valladolid church of Vera Cruz. Shortly after, he acted again, this time taking an Ecce Homo from the church of San Pablo.
“On the same day, the 10th, the theft of a canvas painting, a copy by the author Morales, also occurred during the afternoon.” The thief returned to this temple days later, all dates when Valladolid is in patron saint festivities and very busy. On the 14th it was reported that the “seventh Station of the Cross, titled Jesus falls the second time,” had disappeared, without knowing exactly when.
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The witnesses consulted by the agents pointed to the same profile of the alleged perpetrator through a “matching description” that facilitated the investigators’ work to identify him and proceed to access his house and arrest him.
The agents specialized in crimes against historical heritage carried out various procedures that allowed them to identify the alleged perpetrator, the official statement indicates. “The heritage damage caused by the theft of these works, all of great antiquity and uniqueness, is evident, although the final economic valuation is pending the report of the Central Heritage Unit,” the text continues, highlighting that when the suspect’s home was accessed “objects used in the commission of the acts were recovered, such as transport bags used to carry the stolen works and an electric scooter with which the alleged perpetrator moved between the different temples.”
The suspect was brought before the court and was ordered to be released. The investigation is still pending to find these four pieces of art, still missing, and to find out if the detainee had accomplices for his thefts.
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