More stolen items found in backyard of St. Pete man arrested for stealing endangered tortoises
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - You could call it a real-life treasure hunt.
St. Pete Detectives dug up more expensive and rare collectibles in the backyard of a man's home in St. Pete. He's the same man who, back in May, was arrested and accused of stealing endangered tortoises and rare comic books.
An autographed guitar and a medieval helmet are just some of the rare and expensive items St. Pete Police say Joshua McCarty-Thomas stole.
"It's been a lot of connecting the dots," SPPD Public Information Officer Yolanda Fernandez said. "This one has been extremely unusual since the very beginning. I mean we found two endangered stolen tortoises."
Back in May, detectives found two Galápagos tortoises--worth $10,000 each--inside McCarty's home. Police say he stole them from a zoo in St. Augustine. They also found rare books, expensive comics and a collection of antique newspapers which they say are all worth thousands of dollars.
"We're not experts in things like rare books and comic books, so we've had to bring experts in to help us sort through this and determine what was stolen, where it was stolen from, and now we're in the process of trying to get some of those items back to the rightful owners," Fernandez said.
Booking photo for Joshua McCarty-Thomas
On Tuesday, detectives grabbed shovels and started digging in McCarty's backyard after the investigation led them back to his home.
They found expensive jewelry and other items wrapped up in Walmart shopping bags. They were also led to a storage unit where they found signed musical instruments and framed art.
"When I say that these detectives haven't stopped digging, I mean that literally as well as figuratively. I mean this has been an enormous amount of work in this case," Fernandez said.
McCarty-Thomas remains in the Pinellas County Jail where he's been since May. He's currently facing 10 different counts, including burglary and grand theft.
"We've recovered everything we can so far. He's the only one who knows if there's anything else out there," Fernandez said.