Anthony Lance Lewis stole two crane statues from a front lawn, deputies said. (Mug shot: Polk County Sheriff’s Office)
A man allegedly gifted his ex-girlfriend two crane statues in an attempt to make good with her, only for it to turn out that he had stolen them from someone’s front lawn.
“I think he was kind of trying to make up,” Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County, Florida, said in a video posted on Valentine’s Day regarding the defendant, Anthony Lance Lewis, 33.
According to an affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, the victim had discovered in late January that two statues of sandhill cranes — large birds known for their long neck and legs — were missing.
“The victim [redacted] went outside and discovered an unknown suspect had stolen her two Sandhill Crane statues during the night,” documents stated. “The victim advised that the statues were worth approximately $150.00 each ($300.00 total) and that no one had permission to remove them from her yard.”
She had received the statues from her late husband, so they were special to her, Judd said.
Deputies claimed that locals had surveillance footage showing a man riding a bike on Jan. 29 in the Country Walk subdivision where the woman lives. He stopped in front of the woman’s home, took two statues — each approximately 4 feet tall — from the yard, and rode off on his bike.
On Feb. 7, the detective who signed the affidavit was doing a canvass of area neighborhoods and discovered two sandhill crane statues in the front yard of a home on San Heath Road, deputies said. The resident told cops that Lewis, her ex-boyfriend, brought the two statues to her home approximately seven days before, according to documents.
He brought them over while riding a bike in the middle of the night, the woman told the investigator.
They had been dating at the time and arguing often, she said.
Lewis allegedly told her that he got the statues for her because cranes mate for life, and that he was committed to being with her and was trying to be romantic.
She denied to detectives that she knew they were stolen and advised that she did not want to the cranes, but they were given as a gift.
The woman said she asked Lewis where he got the statues.
“The getting place,” he allegedly answered.
The woman — who was “mortified” upon learning the truth, according to Judd — turned the statues over to police. The original owner confirmed they were hers when shown a photo of the front yard of the girlfriend’s home, and authorities returned the cranes to her.
“We’ve recovered the cranes and returned them to the victim just in time for Valentine’s Day,” he said.
Lewis is now charged with felony petit theft and dealing in stolen property in this matter, though records show he had been locked up on Feb. 1 for drug charges and resisting/obstructing an office without violence. Judd noted 39 previous burglary and theft charges. The affidavit described convictions for theft in 2011, 2013, and 2016.
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