Melbourne police are looking for the man they believe stole several Highwaymen paintings, parrots, a grandfather clock and an heirloom vase.
The stolen Highwaymen paintings, clock and vase have been found, but not the parrots -- Little Jim, Red Neck, Buffett, Mack and Bobblehead -- or the man suspected of stealing them.
Sgt. John Chapman says Melbourne police are using social media and working with avian groups to find the birds.
"Being able to spread the word as much as possible because if somebody does have them and does see it -- and we put as much description as we could into our press release that we did let out there -- then hopefully try and have them come forward and find them so we can return them to their owner," Chapman said.
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George Steven Rivera. Photo: Melbourne PD[/caption]
Police are also looking for 67-year-old George Steven Rivera. He left prison about a year ago and is still on probation for a burglary from 1995. Rivera had been sent away for 25 years because of his already long criminal history at the time -- 12 felonies, 19 misdemeanors and a parole violation.
Officers say he was doing burglaries again last summer and tried to pass himself off as an art dealer selling the colorful, uniquely Florida landscape paintings.
A news report led to a tip and a break in the case.
The Melbourne Police Department provided these descriptions of the parrots:
- Congo African Grey with chest and legs feathers plucked,
- Congo African Grey with red feathers on the back of neck and on chest,
- Scarlet Macaw Good who is very thin,
- Blue and Gold Macaw, and
- Blue Front Amazon who is missing toes and has a fatty tumor on the rear and who bobbles his head a lot.
