Police charged a 49-year-old man in connection to the “bronze bandit” case last Friday, according to an article published in The Miami Herald Sunday.
Coral Gables police believe the suspect, Gregory Brian Wilson, is responsible for nabbing several bronze plaques and letters from buildings throughout Coral Gables during the past six months.
More than a dozen bronze plaques throughout the city have been stolen. One of the victims of swiped bronze is the University of Miami.
Ofc. Frank Jackson of the CGPD said that two bronze plaques were stolen from UM buildings. One plaque decorated the Neil Schiff Tennis Center; the other was stolen from the Plumer Building on Ponce de Leon Boulevard.
Margot Winick, executive director of media relations for the university, said that the case is not a university matter and the university has not been involved in the investigation.
Police said that when arrested last Friday, Wilson told them he was having financial difficulties. The Herald also reported that before being arrested Friday, police said Wilson was out on bond from a previous arrest for writing bad checks.
The Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts website lists six cases in total, including the latest charge, brought against Wilson in county court.
The burglary at the Plumer Building was caught on surveillance video and highly played on television news broadcasts. Someone who saw the video and recognized Wilson notified CGPD.
Wilson is being held on burglary and grand theft charges for removing a plaque from the Plumer Building and is the prime suspect in seven other bronze thefts.
Megan Ondrizek may be contacted at m.ondrizek@umiami.edu.