Miami police have arrested the man allegedly responsible for the theft of a naked statue of Donald Trump that stood over a section of the Wynwood neighborhood.
Pedro Rodriguez, 36, has been charged with grand theft and burglary, police say.
Miami Police PIO said the naked Donald Trump statue has been returned and is in its owner’s possession. No further details were disclosed on the status of the statue.
UPDATE: Correction, statue was not recovered, but an arrest has been made. Pedro Rodriguez has been charged with Grand Theft and Burglary. https://t.co/wI84C5LETI — Miami PD (@MiamiPD) September 23, 2016
According to the police report, a witness told police he saw the suspect walking on the roof of the business; the suspect then removed the statue and dropped it into the back of a pickup truck with a Florida tag that was parked in front of the business. The witness was able to capture a picture of the truck while it was driving away. The witness added that the suspect was the driver of the truck.
Authorities conducted a record check of the tag number, which identified Rodriguez as the truck's registered owner. The witness acknowledged that Rodriguez was the one he saw taking the statue.
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Eugene Lemay, president of Mana Contemporary, released a statement Friday evening:
"The sculpture... was stolen from the property of Mana Wynwood on Thursday, September 22 before dawn. The owners of Mana Wynwood have filed a police report and shared security footage from the scene. The theft of the sculpture will not undermine our determination to stand strong for what it represents and what we want to communicate: a profound statement against any forms of bigotry, racism, and discrimination during this presidential election campaign."
One of five statues created by a Cleveland man showing the GOP Presidential nominee with no clothes on had been at a display near Northwest 2nd Avenue and 23rd Street. It was moved there after appearing on top of a billboard just blocks away before police asked it to be moved over safety concerns.
The statues began appearing last month in places such as Los Angeles, Seattle and New York City – which was the first location of the one that later appeared in South Florida.
