Burglars stole more than 1,000 artifacts from the Oakland Museum of California’s storage facility in a predawn raid that went undetected until the following day, authorities said.
The thieves broke into the off-site facility shortly before 3:30 a.m. Oct. 15, the Oakland Police Department (OPD) announced Wednesday. They took Native American baskets, jewelry, additional historic artifacts and laptops from the museum’s collection, police said. The OPD is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Art Crime Team on the case.
“The theft that occurred represents a brazen act that robs the public of our state’s cultural heritage,” Oakland Museum of California Executive Director and CEO Lori Fogarty said. “Most of these objects have been given to the Museum by generous donors. We are working in close partnership with the City of Oakland, the Oakland Police Department, and the FBI to see that these objects are returned.” (RELATED: ‘We Failed’: New Details Come Out In Wake Of Brazen Louvre Robbery)
Fogarty told the press that staff discovered the break-in when they showed up the morning of Oct. 16, The Oaklandside reported. The building has surveillance and alarms, but no employees were present during the theft, she continued.
“We think that this was more of a crime of opportunity than a strategic strike,” Fogarty said. She said the stolen goods were mostly small in size and included historical items and artwork.
The city of Oakland owns the museum’s collection of over two million artifacts and is taking part in the matter, according to Fogarty. She said police did not announce the incident for two weeks to protect the investigation’s integrity. Museum staff have begun communicating with insurance providers to determine the stolen items’ worth while the museum is looking into further security measures, The Oaklandside reported.
The museum has faced similar crimes before. The facility faced burglaries in 2012 and early 2013, according to the outlet. Andre Taray Franklin was the suspect in both thefts and later sold an $800,000 Gold Rush-era jewelry box from the museum’s collection. A court sentenced him to four years behind bars in 2014.