Fairfax County prosecutors have decided not to charge a Herndon man with stealing a realistic sculpture of a bikini-clad woman from a Reston Town Center arts festival two months ago.
Michael John Star, 45, was initially charged with grand larceny for walking off with the life-sized $38,000 sculpture titled "Legs Folded" during the May 23 Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick said Wednesday at Star's preliminary hearing in Fairfax County General District Court that Star would only be charged with one count of grand larceny and one petty larceny count for unrelated thefts.
The sculpture's artist, Marc Sijan, lives in Wisconsin and it would be too difficult to prosecute Star with the victim in another state, Fitzpatrick said.
"It would be hard to prove that he actually stole it," Fitzpatrick said. "We're prosecuting him on the counts for which we have the strongest evidence."
WITNESSES WHO SAW Star leaving the festival two months ago carrying the "Legs Folded" assumed he had purchased the sculpture, which was made out of polyester and resin, according to police.
Two weeks after the festival, Star was arrested outside his Herndon apartment for huffing silver paint from a plastic bottle and for using his cellphone to take pictures of people lounging around the complex's swimming pool.
After he was taken away by police, his landlord checked on his apartment and found numerous items — including power tools, camping equipment and golf clubs — which had been stolen from around the neighborhood.
"I wanted to make sure he hadn't left the stove on or left any candles burning or anything," said Sarah Reed, the property manager at Archstone Apartments at Rolling Fork Circle.
Reed said she knew the items had been stolen because several residents had complained to her about a rash of recent break-ins.
Upon searching his apartment a few days later, detectives found almost 30 stolen items, including the "Legs Folded" sculpture, which was on a shelf in Star's bedroom. Police also found an undressed mannequin standing in Star's bathtub.
"Did we find anything odd in there? Yeah, we did," said Det. Stephen Sulzinski of the Fairfax County Police Department.
IN ADDITION to the grand larceny charge for the sculpture, Star was originally charged with a litany of other offenses, including breaking and entering, another grand larceny count, misdemeanor theft. He has been held without bond at the Adult Detention Center in Fairfax since his arrest for substance abuse in early June.
Wednesday morning, all charges but two were dropped by the prosecution.
He is still charged with breaking into a neighbor's garage and stealing his camping equipment and golf clubs, worth almost $1,000. Also, he is still being charged with attempting to steal $30 worth of meat and other items from the Giant Foods grocery store on Elden Street in Herndon.
Jeffrey Overand, Star's attorney, said the prosecution cannot prove his client stole everything police found in his apartment because a former roommate still had a key.
"We're aware that at least one other person had access to Mr. Star's apartment," Overand said.
Fitzpatrick said Star was the only person on the lease and the only known resident of the apartment.
Overand declined to comment further and would not say if Star has a history of mental illness or drug use.
Star's case will now be sent a grand jury and faces trial on Aug. 30.