7 days ago
Man ‘caught mid-heist' tried to steal Picasso, Warhol pieces, AZ officials say
A man accused of trying to make off with seven pieces of art – including works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol – is heading to prison, Arizona prosecutors said.
Harpreet Singh, 33, was sentenced to five years behind bars after pleading guilty to one felony count of theft, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said in a July 23 news release.
He was also ordered to serve 3.5 years on supervised probation in connection with cutting his ankle monitor after he posted bond, prosecutors said.
Julio Laboy, Singh's attorney, told McClatchy News in a July 24 phone call that it's been frustrating to see the case receive outsize attention, including through the news release.
His client 'isn't a mastermind,' he said, but instead, 'this is the confluence of' addiction and mental health struggles.
Laboy said Singh has accepted responsibility for his actions and is taking strides to make changes in his life.
Singh was 'caught mid-heist' in January 2024, prosecutors said.
An alarm was triggered at Scottsdale's American Fine Art Inc., and a responding employee discovered 'several pieces of art missing from the walls,' according to prosecutors.
The employee 'also heard someone in an upstairs office and called the police,' prosecutors said.
Officers saw a person on the roof and found art 'scattered around' up there, along with tools, a mask and gloves, prosecutors said.
Singh's car was parked under an emergency ladder, and he was arrested after being found on a roof nearby, according to prosecutors.
'Among the seven artworks he tried to steal were three Picassos and two Warhols,' according to prosecutors.
In the news release, County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said 'art heists may seem glamorous in the movies, but in Maricopa County, they end with a prison sentence instead of a dramatic getaway.'
She added that, thanks to police and prosecutors, 'the only art this thief will be looking at for the next few years will be whatever's etched on the walls of his cell.'
