Stolen F. Scott Fitzgerald statue brought to scrap metal yard in pieces, man arrested: Police

A Minnesota man has been arrested and charged in connection with the theft of an F. Scott Fitzgerald statue after trying to sell pieces of the cut-up bronze work to a scrap metal yard, police said Friday.

The statue was stolen earlier this month from outside a Saint Paul office building where "The Great Gatsby" author once attended school, police said.

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office has charged Dustan Charles Schmitt, 37, of Saint Paul, with one count of felony receiving stolen property in connection with the theft, police said.

Police put out an alert about the theft on Feb. 11, asking for the public's help in finding the statue.

That same day, an employee at a metal recycling business in Saint Paul contacted police to report that the suspect had attempted to sell the statue, which had been cut up into pieces, according to the probable cause statement in the complaint.

"The employee was able to hold onto some of the pieces before Schmitt fled," the Saint Paul Police Department said in a press release on Friday.

Investigators recovered parts of the statue from the scrap metal yard, police said while sharing photos of the cut-up statue.

Saint Paul SWAT officers executed a search warrant at Schmitt's residence on Thursday and took him into custody, police said. Officers recovered a propane tank with a blowtorch in a Jeep parked behind the house and three torch heads in the suspect's bedroom, according to the probable cause statement.

It is unclear if Schmitt has an attorney.

Saint Paul Police Chief Axel Henry thanked the metal recycling business "for their vigilance and commitment to upholding the new state law which requires anyone looking to sell scrap metal copper worth more than $25 to first obtain a license.

"I also want to commend the Northern Metal Recycling employee whose intuition helped us recover what's left of this sentimental piece of Saint Paul history, while also likely preventing additional metal thefts from happening in our community," Henry said in a statement.

Additional pieces of the F. Scott Fitzgerald statue remain missing, police said, asking anyone with information regarding their whereabouts to call 651-291-1111.

The replacement value of the statue is estimated at $25,000, according to the probable cause statement.

The statue, which had been located on the steps outside the Academy Professional Building in Saint Paul, depicted a young Fitzgerald seated with books in his lap.

All that remains of the 3-to-4-foot statue at the site is part of his right hand. A saw or torch is believed to have been used to free the statue from its base, according to the probable cause statement.

The building was once home to the St. Paul Academy, which Fitzgerald attended from 1908 to 1911 as a teen.

CCI Properties founder Ed Conley commissioned local artist Aaron Dysart to make the statue of the author nearly 20 years ago when his company bought the building, which now houses office spaces.

Conley told ABC Twin Cities affiliate KSTP Fitzgerald wrote for the school paper and participated in plays while he attended the school.

Conley told KSTP he hopes to "resurrect" the statue, which had become a fixture on various tours in the city, and "bring it back to the community and have people enjoy it again."